Wesleyan Sweethearts Stories

 

Joanne (Kniffen) ’80 and Dave ’80 Rogers met at a Sig Ep party 39 years ago and Joanne says it was instant infatuation! They dates for two years before getting engaged on a spring break trip to New York City.

The couple married in 1980 after moving back to New York, but eventually settled in Connecticut. After fulfilling careers in international business (Dave) and health education (Joanne), they retired to Charleston, SC to enjoy year-round sailing, biking, gardening and a healthful lifestyle. 


Beth ’08 and Wil ’09 Shepherd met their freshman year in 2004 at an off campus party when Beth was receiving some unwanted attention from another guy and Wil “saved” her. After that she says there were inseparable and were eventually married in Tapscott Chapel.

The couple has two kids, Parker and Wesley. Beth is now serving as Chief Financial Officer at Wendell Foster in Owensboro, while Wil is the Vector Development Lab Manager at Kentucky BioProcessing. “We truly wouldn’t be the couple we are today without Wesleyan.”


Meet #WesleyanSweethearts Janet Laswell ’72 and Rich ’73 Suwanski. They met in the library at Wesleyan and Janet invited Rich (a Sigma Nu) to a Kappa Delta party. He then asked Janet to the movie prior to that.

They have two daughters, Jill, a Wesleyan graduate who practices law in Nashville where she lives with her husband Erik, and Ellen who lives in Southern California with her husband Matt and their 2-year-old son, Hendrix.

Rich retired in 2014 as a reporter from the Messenger-Inquirer after 40 years in sports and health/community relations. Janet worked as a state social worker then stayed home for a few years after her daughters were born. She retired in 2016 after 21 years with the Owensboro Public Schools. She now is the Executive Director of the Owensboro Public Schools Foundation for Excellence.


Lauren ’12 and Richard ’12 Moore met during their freshman orientation and began dating during their second semester freshman year during the iconic ice storm of 2009.

Richard is now working at Luthan Electric Meter Testing as a Field Services Assistant and Lauren works at Aleris as a Laboratory Technician. They have a four year old Yorkie named Bella.#WesleyanSweethearts


James ’10 and Jayne ’06 Bishop met in 2007 through mutual friends because Jayne was a Sammie little sis. #WesleyanSweethearts

“We spent the first 2.5 years of our relationship apart because Ben was working on his MFA at West Virginia. As a couple we have purchased a dog and home and are actively working to start a family. We have become very active at our church which is home to several other Wesleyan alums. Our biggest change was going through a major home renovation less than a year after purchasing our home because we won a contest from HGTV.”

Did you meet your spouse at Wesleyan? Share your Wesleyan Sweetheart story!


Bob and Mary McDole met in the fall of 1976 and have now been married 38 years! Watch below to hear how they met and where there lives have taken them since those fateful days at Wesleyan. #WesleyanSweethearts

Did you meet your spouse at Wesleyan? Share your Wesleyan Sweetheart story!