We met on October 30, 1982 through a mutual friend, and it was "love at first sight"!
We started dating and soon became dance partners on a local clogging team (Capital City Cloggers)! Here we are in our clogging outfits back in 1983 (see photo).
We dated off and on for 5 years and became engaged on October 30, 1987—exactly 5 years since the day we met. We were married on February 20, 1988.
5/19/85 – 10/22/01
(16.5 years old)
… in loving memory
Where to begin… I guess at the beginning! Dusty was "Jacki's baby" at first before we got married, so Jacki will tell this part of the story…
I had been wanting a little furry friend for many years after moving out on my own, but this one summer day I woke up and decided this was the day. I was bound and determined to find "my" very own little fur-baby. I first checked the paper and the humane shelter, but there were none that fit the bill. I specifically wanted a "little, fluffy dog."
So I went to the pet store. I had first picked out a little terrier, but when they put him in the little glass play area for me to see him better, he just didn't seem to respond to me much. Then my eye caught this little fur-ball in the next cage over—it was love at first sight! They put him in the play area, and when I reached down to pet him, he jumped and jumped and licked me and wagged his little tail… I knew I had found my baby…
1978 – 1/13/98
(20 years old)
… in loving memory
What can you say about a dog that lived for 20 years? We are deeply grieved by the loss of Crystal. She was in our family for a very long time—from way before we were married—and we're very grateful to have had her for so many years, but it's still very difficult to deal with.
While we have no children of our own, we have had many fur-babies (see our other pages) and also a growing family through Jacki's siblings. Gorden is an only child. According to him, this is because once his parents reached perfection they didn't need to go any further! According to others(!) it is because once they saw what they'd done, they were scared to have any more! (just kidding!!).
Below are our family members. Clicking on their photo will take you to their Facebook page…
NOTE: If you find an orphaned baby squirrel, please see this excellent site: Squirrel Tales. It includes all the proper care for baby squirrels, as well as how to find an experienced rehabber in your area. If you are in the Tallahassee, Florida, area, please contact St. Francis Wildlife. This page also has local drop-off locations where you can take the baby for St. Francis to pick up.
From 2003 – 2015 we fostered orphaned baby squirrels as volunteers for St. Francis Wildlife! What an amazing adventure this became! When we lost Dusty in 2001 Gorden always said if he ever got another pet it would be a squirrel (though we've since learned that squirrels do NOT make good pets!)—so when we found this little guy (whom we called "Fuzzy") crawling around in our yard one day, we took him in—and proceeded to do EVERYTHING wrong!
