Having grown up in the St. Louis Mo. suburbs, I was able to see my grandparents, aunts and uncles a lot. Our house was across the street from my grandparent’s house. We had dinner at grandma’s house every Sunday and on Holidays followed by singing around the piano, games and visiting. I was accustomed to this and was able to thrive through grade school and high school. This experience pre-set my expectations going forward. I knew I would find someone to marry and wondered who was out there. I also knew that I wanted to become a Personnel Manager and work in Manufacturing. I learned to play guitar and formed a light-rock band in 1957 when I was 14 and worked 3 nights a week through high school.
When I was 18 in 1961, I joined a “dirty two-horn blues band as the Bass player and we played 4 nights a week. I was also enrolled in college taking 20 credit-hours per semester. I didn’t have time for a girlfriend. I did want to attend my high school reunion and wanted to bring a date. I was told by our drummer’s sisters that I “had to meet Marlene”. I took this seriously.
I stopped by Sunset Teen Town on the Friday before the reunion looking for a date for the Monday night reunion. Ike and Tina Turner were playing. I saw one of the girls I knew and asked if anybody could go to the reunion with me. She said “Marlene is here”. I said “The Marlene?” and she said yes. She found Marlene and brought her back to meet me. I had a St. Louis U sweatshirt on and she asked if I went to St. Louis U. I said “No, but my mother knitted this for me in hopes that I would attend one day”. We danced and she agreed to go, but said I would have to pick her up at the Chase Hotel where she had to do a presentation for the Dental Convention. I found her at the Convention and listened to her presentation. I was impressed. She took a minute to change out of her white uniform into a black dress and we headed to the reunion. Marlene was the most emotionally stable girl I had ever met. She was a cute, smart, funny, level-headed, competent and professional with a self-deprecating sense of humor.
I had just completed the first semester of my Freshman year at St. Louis University. I got a 3.7 GPA and it wasn’t that hard. I was not a grade-hound and didn’t cram for exams. I did not intend to go to graduate school. I always thought of myself as the customer in school. I decided if the information I got in class was useful and true. I believed that choosing who to marry was the most important decision I could make.
I sang to Marlene as we drove to the reunion. When we arrived, she met my classmates and they were impressed. I had dated one of the girl’s school Reps and they expected I would bring the girl they got to know. Marlene was a surprise. We danced and drank champaign, visited with the guys and had a great time. On the way home we decided to have more dates with each other. Our dates included lunch on Sundays and dinners with Marlene’s family. She had 2 brothers who were hilarious and were also musicians. Her little sister was a character. Her dad was great and her mom was a riot. I felt at home.
Our lunch dates gave us a chance to get to know each other’s history and beliefs. We both attended Catholic, parish-based grade schools and private Catholic high schools. I went to all-boys Christian Brothers Military HS and Marlene went to all-girls Notre Dame HS. We each knew kids from each-others schools. Many graduates of these Catholic high schools attended St. Louis U. We knew each other’s background and we were compatible and became inseparable.
We were engaged in December 1963 and I ran into two of Marlene’s classmates on campus and told them I was engaged to Marlene. They both said “Perfect” in unison. This was another confirmation that Marlene was the one. I had met these two at Speech club events. Marlene knew them well as the smartest girls in her class.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea
Party Leader
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