Great news! Our classmate, David (Dave) Hartley is engaged. He recently proposed to LaVonne Messmer at romantic and historic Proposal Rock, an island off the Oregon Coast, and she said yes. They plan to be married next month in a small private wedding (just the two of them and the minister). They haven’t picked a date yet, but Dave is over-the-moon happy and can’t wait to “tie the knot”.

Dave’s betrothed lost her husband about nine years ago and wasn’t looking for another relationship. Nonetheless, a mutual friend decided to introduce her to Dave. Though, one of LaVonne’s sons and Dave attend the same church, so most likely they would have met eventually anyway.

As some of you know, Dave owns a large piece of land in Lebanon Oregon where he farms hazelnut trees for commercial use. The farming life keeps him healthy and in shape, but it’s not for sissies. It’s long hours and hard work, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything, at least not until recently. Now he’s looking forward to slowing down a little to share his golden years with LaVonne.

LaVonne was born in Delmont, South Dakota and moved to Oregon in 1950 with her parents, both of German descent. She has attended the same church in Lebanon since the age of 10– the church where she and Dave plan to marry.

Like Dave, LaVonne likes to keep busy. She owns an appliance store in Lebanon, belongs to a quilting club, and stays healthy by walking every day. She has two sons and six grandchildren that also keep her occupied.

Currently Dave and LaVonne attend two different Sunday services, one at her church followed by one at his church. It makes for a long Sunday, but they don’t mind as long as they’re together.

Being close in age, they grew up enjoying the same type of music and participating in similar activities. Dave is delighted they have so much in common– like dancing to “oldies but goodies” and listening to their favorite Ricky Nelson songs. They absolutely adore each other and have a lot of fun together.

At the end of our conversation Dave said, “LaVonne is quiet, but has a good sense of humor and knows how to laugh. I am very proud of her and am looking forward to having classmates meet her.”

Congratulations Dave and LaVonne!

Pee Wee called me last week to tell me that she is getting married on July 18 to Larry Smith of Grants Pass, Oregon and she asked me to share this great news with her classmates.

Pee Wee met Larry in church where he has been a church elder for the past 17 years. Since then their friendship has grown through their involvement in the church ministry. Pee Wee said that when they first started dating she told Larry that she was not looking for a husband– that she was happy with her life and very content being single and warned him, “so don’t get any ideas– I just want to be friends.” Well… after a year of being “friends” and a year of dating, followed by another year of dating  while she considered his marriage proposal (she wanted to be sure), she finally said yes. By the time she accepted, she had fallen madly in love with him, saying, “Larry is the nicest man I have ever known and I want to spend the rest of my life with him.” Pee Wee promised to write a story about how their relationship evolved, which I plan to include in a future newsletter. By-the-way, for any of you hoping to marry again someday, this is proof positive that patience and perseverance pay off.

Here is a copy of their wedding announcement that was published in the church bulletin. Pee Wee asked me to tell classmates that it’s going to be a very small wedding with just her family and his family in attendance and the parishioners, since the ceremony will take place during the regular Sunday service.  The following wedding invitation is meant for members of her church only, but she will send me photos and possibly a videotape of the wedding  that I will share with classmates.

In the meantime, please leave your comments to Pee Wee at the end of this post. You may send cards to the happy couple at 294 Penny Lane, Grants Pass, OR 97527.

Congratulations Pee Wee! You are a very special and wonderful person– beautiful both inside and out. You deserve the best and I’m sooo happy for you!