Today is the birthday of the most precious and important person in my life. My darling wife, Sylvia.

I almost didn’t meet her. I’d worked hard filling silo that Saturday in September and I was as tired as I’ve ever been. I was ready to go to bed early, but my best friend in High School, Mel, was having a birthday celebration. So off I went.

We lived in the small town of Leslie, Michigan. Mel attended a church in Lansing, and that night some of the youth from Lansing were at the party. There were three sisters in that group. (She’s the one on the left — and the picture is from an earlier time.) I was playing Cootie with a group of folks. And I was losing — bad. Sylvia was sitting on my right and I hadn’t taken much notice of her. I complained. She said, “You poor thing. I said, “Don’t rub it in.” She reached over and rubbed my arm. Hello! She had my attention at that moment and has never lost it since.

This is her pictures from that time. It took one look. I was hooked. And my goose was cooked.

We finished High School and started classes at Michigan State University. After her freshman year we decided to get married so that we could spend more time together.

And we were married on September 9, 1961. After a brief honeymoon at the family cottage on Glen Lake (Near the Sleeping Bear National Park in Michigan), we moved into our new quarters in the Cherry Lane married housing apartments on the MSU campus.

Always cheerful and optimistic. She is an encouragement to all who know her. Don’t try to keep up with her. You probably don’t have enough energy!

Besides our native state of Michigan, we’ve lived in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Connecticut — where she wrapped up her working career. The photo on the left was taken while we were living in Connecticut. We were taking part in the wedding of a young couple.