10/23/2017

Today is our 35th wedding anniversary, and we celebrated by going out to dinner with our close friends.  It was a lovely day and Rich wrote a really beautiful tribute to us on his facebook page.  If I knew how to copy it here, I would, but I’m pretty sure I’ll screw it up.    Ok, here goes.  I’m so awed that he would take the time to write such a lovely story, and wanted to share it with you.  I realize that you probably are learning a lot more about us than you probably want to know, but I still wanted to share.

Rich’s Facebook Post.

There are two people responsible for my time at Thiel. The first is Ray Olsen and the second in Prof. David Miller.Ray Olsen recruited me to Thiel to play football and Prof. Miller helped me stay on track academically. Once at Thiel all I could think about was football. My grades suffered and David Miller stepped in and said that I needed a tutor. That tutor was a tough no nonsense, no bulls^&*t tutor. After I got my feet under me academically, I knew I would need to thank David Miller and my tutor. Thiel was my home away from home and we made great friends at Thiel. Sandy bought a marble bench and donated it to Thiel for our 30th anniversary with an inscription that said “We found ourselves and each other at Thiel”. Now you are wondering why the wedding pictures of Sandy and I. Well, I have been blessed for 35 years. Today is our anniversary. Sandy saw something in me that I didn’t or couldn’t. In her eyes, I was everything to her and she showed me everyday how much she cared and loved me. She is my best friend and life without her would be empty. I can not begin to express how much she means to me. Words are not enough. So I am posting our wedding pictures to share with my facebook family and try and give meaning to what she has meant to me over the years. We are a great team. That is why Thiel means so much to us. We want to give back to the school and students in hopes that they can achieve the happiness we have. And it’s all because we went to Thiel. So thank you Ray Olsen and Prof. Miller Oh, and by the way, the tutor that Prof. Miller arranged for me….was Sandy. Love you with all my heart.

Image may contain: 2 people, people standing and wedding
Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, people standing, suit and wedding
And now I’ll add my two cents to his story.  I got diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis two weeks after this photo was taken.  Rich and I both thought it was nothing…like a commercial on TV where two women are playing tennis and one woman rubs her hand and says her arthritis is acting up, and the other tells her to rub Ben Gay on it.  We should’ve known we were destined for more.  A lot more.  By the time I was twenty-seven, I’d put off having my knee replaced for longer than I should have, and had to bend at the waist when I walked to maintain my balance, as my knee was permanently bent at about 30 degrees.  It was the first replacement, shortly to be followed by my right knee at 29, my right hip at 31, my neck fused at 31, my right shoulder replaced at 33….well, you get the picture.  Rich was so good to me, and had to do so many things that a very young married man should ever have to do.  I remember going to our tenth college reunion, and Rich had to carry me up the stairs of the dorm we were all staying in for the weekend.  That had to be so difficult for him (and embarrassing).  He was 31 years old.  I am blessed to be married to not only the man whose always taken my breath away, and makes my heart beat faster whenever he is near, but most importantly, my very best friend…The first person I want to see in the morning and the last that I want to see at night.  I couldn’t have gone down this path without him and we were lucky to have found each other.  He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

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