Bob and I met working part-time at Bonanza Sirloin Pit (which is Roma’s today) in the summer of 1974, before Bob’s senior year and my junior year at BHS. I was dating someone else at the time, but Bob won me over with his persistence and talent for flirting. Our first date was at Bob’s Big Boy for milkshakes. We “officially” became a couple in October 1974.

We dated throughout the rest of high school. Bob graduated in 1975 and headed to UNO. I graduated in 1976 and enrolled at Clarkson School of Nursing. We became engaged in 1978, and both graduated from college in the Spring of 1979, I with my RN and Bob with his Bachelor of Science (magna cum laude) in Psychology. After dating for 5 years, we were married in July 1979…finally! After our honeymoon at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, Bob continued his education to earn an MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology while I began my career as a Registered Nurse. I supported us as newlyweds while Bob worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant while in grad school.

Our first child, Benjamin, was born the following May of 1980, which prompted several life changes, including Bob getting a job! As Bob’s career took off, it also took us all over the United States. We have lived in Oklahoma, Texas, Southern California, Northern California, Ohio, Boston, then back to Texas, and eventually, back to Omaha. I continued to work as an RN and, with the high demand for nurses, I was always able to find a new position as we relocated. I worked in Intensive Care Units for many years before specializing in Cardiology. Our second child, Caitlin, was born in May 1980, shortly after we relocated to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the first time…and just before we moved to SoCal when Bob accepted a promotion. Bob’s career flourished and culminated in him working the last 15 years as the SVP/Chief HR Officer at various public companies, including Reebok International, Devon Energy, and Black Hills Corporation. His last position as CHRO for Black Hills Corp., which is headquartered in South Dakota, created a unique opportunity for us (as empty nesters) to move back to Omaha. So, after many years, we returned to Nebraska in 2009, which has allowed us to spend time with our parents and other family members who remained in the area. As Bob approached retirement in 2017, we began building our “forever home” on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, where we had honeymooned. So, it’s no surprise that we named our lake home, “Full Circle”! As retirees, we enjoy our time at the lake golfing and fishing during the warm months, and being snowbirds in Florida during the winters.

We are approaching our 47th wedding anniversary this year (and 52nd year as a couple!) We are very thankful to have been blessed with 2 children who have become wonderful adults and have given us 5 amazing grandchildren. We are also very fortunate to still have all 4 of our parents (who are also high school sweethearts!) living in Bellevue in the same houses we grew up in.

Many thanks to Bellevue Senior High School for bringing us together for such a wonderful life!