I was a sophomore when I met my future husband in the school hallway. He was also a sophomore and the most handsome guy I had ever seen. I was 14 and I knew that day that I would spend my life with him. After making eyes at each other in school for a few months, he asked me to sit with him on the spectator bus coming home from a football game. When we got off the bus back in Dewitt, friends asked us to go to Nip N Sip with them. French fries and root beer cinched the deal. We were officially a couple after that.

Our junior year, Jon played football and I was a varsity cheerleader. We had classes together, studied together, watched movies together and at our young ages began planning our future together.

We married just before high school graduation and soon started a family. We were young but we were dedicated to each other and to being good parents.

Jon learned bricklaying after high school, eventually branching into construction trades where he worked for 40 years. I began a career with the State of Michigan right after graduation and worked my way up the ladder until I retired nearly 32 years later. The years brought us a daughter and two sons. The boys also graduated from Dewitt.

We now have 9 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren and have remained in Dewitt our entire married life. We will celebrate our 60th anniversary this May!