Joy says she remember seeing me as a young father at Stone Church when she was Steve Soper’s young wife and our children were attending the Stone Church Sunday School. 

My first real memory of Joy was when Donna K. Wright and i were going into a restaurant on The Plaza when Steve Soper, Joy, Keith and Evelyn Allen were coming out. I remember thinking, Joy doesn’t approve of my choice of companions. 

Nothing much happened until Keith Allen, who was one of my oldest friends from high school, suggested Joy as a date for a Military Ball my Reserve School was having.  Keith cleared it with Joy first. 

Thus, she wore a beautiful dress and i was in Army Dress Blues on our first date. We were spectacular, and Joy looked like a movie star, but we didn’t seal the deal until 1992 when we finally married in Estacada.