Anniversaries 50 Years!

Valerie and Bruce met during the first week of their sophomore year in Nashville. Valerie was a student at Peabody; Bruce a student at Vanderbilt. The campuses were just across 21st Avenue from each other. Peabody mixers were mid-week get togethers.

Free for Peabody students and 25 cents for others. Another Vandy male and Bruce decided to go after the evening fraternity rush activities.

Bruce asked Valerie to dance , they talked for a while, and then they walked back to her dorm. Fast forward to Spring Break junior year on Daytona Beach, Florida. Valerie had gone to Florida with several of her Peabody friends, and Bruce had gone to Florida with several fraternity brothers. Valerie went to her parents in Merritt Island; Bruce had gone to Tampa. Near the end of the week, both groups went to Daytona Beach. Valerie was driving her car on the beach; Bruce and his brothers were throwing a football on the beach. Valerie stopped her car and yelled the name of the guy she knew from Nashville. The rest is history!

They were married in Kansas City, MO on August 21, 1971. They honeymooned at Lake of the Ozarks on the way to Groton, CT for Bruce’s submarine school for the US Navy. Duty stations were in Hawaii and on both coasts during their nearly 8 years of active duty on nuclear powered submarines. Bruce then joined the Navy Reserves as a "weekend warrior" and retired in 2000 with 30 years of total service as Captain USNR.

After active duty, Bruce joined the IBM work force in Birmingham, AL, where Valerie worked as a travel agent. The couple later moved to Marietta, GA where they have lived for 37 years. Bruce continued working in IBM sales and Valerie was a Kindergarten teacher. They retired in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

Their sons were both born as Navy kids. Bo currently lives in Washington, DC with 3 children. Steve resides in Bozeman, MT.

Valerie and Bruce enjoy traveling. They have visited 61 countries and have accumulated 38 cruises. Covid-19 has slowed them down a bit, but thay are ready to go travelling again!

They are all celebrating 50 years with a luncheon on the Capitol Lawn in Washington, DC.