Anniversary Date: January 20, 1967

Love Story: Mary and I met at Midland in January, 1964, when she enrolled second semester. I actually saw her for the first time in the Commons one evening and asked her out the following day. We have been together ever since. She came to the United States from Argentina where her parents were Lutheran missionaries for some 25 years. The following year, her parents moved to the Nebraska. Her father, Rev. Lavon Spath, taught one year at Midland before moving to New Jersey and working for the Lutheran Church as a literature translator. Mary and I married in January of 1967 and celebrated our 50th anniversary on January 20, 2017. We lived in Omaha for many years before moving to Texas in 1978. In 2010, we retired and relocated to Pickstown, SD, the site of Fort Randall Dam and Fort Francis Case Lake.  We have two children and four grandsons. Sadly, no granddaughters. We have been blessed with a wonderful life together and cherish our memories of Fremont and Midland Lutheran College.