Darlene Church Friend & Bobby Friend
Class of '67
Bobby and I met in May 1994 while the Reunion Committee was planning our class’s 45th Birthday Party. Bobby was one of those classmates that had moved out of state and was classified as “missing.” He had not attended any reunions so we didn’t have a correct address for him. Since Email was nonexistent then, the Southern Bell telephone book was our search engine. Jan Long was a committee member and through her diligence located him, living in Jacksonville. (Thanks, Jan.) I invited him to a committee reunion dinner, he accepted, we became friends . . . and two years later were married.
On our wedding day, there was a terrible storm. We arrived at the church—no electricity. Of course I was devastated. I had been divorced for 25 years and so wanted this day to be perfect. (I discovered that perfect doesn’t have to include electricity.) As if that wasn’t enough to make me cry, during the ceremony the minister kept referring to Bobby as my wife. At this point everyone was laughing, except for me and the minister—who hadn’t realized his mistake. We were finally wed and as soon as we entered the foyer the electricity came back on. I guess God really does have a sense of humor.
Coincidence or not? You decide. Summer of 1968 we lived several blocks from each other in Key West; in 1973 we lived 1.5 miles from each other; 1987 we worked in the same building; and our social security numbers are identical except for the last digit which is separated by three numbers.
I have a beautiful daughter Tonya and two adorable granddaughters, Macey and Mikaela, who are so blessed and fortunate to have Bobby in their life.
Darlene & Bobby on their wedding day
June 15, 1996
Ribault's Greatest Love Stories
Class of '67
