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26th AMENDMENT SIGNING | MEMORIES
Wedding of Phyllis and Bill
June 28, 1958
Although our first date had only been in late September, we were married the following June (on Bill's 21st birthday and only one month before Phyllis's 20th birthday.) For more information about our dating and engagement click here for dating and here for engagement.
We had both been on an extended choir tour just prior to our wedding day and Phyllis's mother graciously did most of the planning and arrangements for our special day (this was 65 years ago as of this writing.) When Phyllis returned home from the tour, everything was in place for our wedding, only a couple of weeks later.
Phyllis chose her dear friends as her brides's maids and matron of honor, and her young cousins as flower girls. Bill chose his father for his best man (the best he has ever known) and his uncle Mar. Gen. Lloyd B. Ramsey, as one of his groom's men, plus one of Phyllis's uncles as another groom's man, and life-long buddies as other grooms men.
One of Phyllis's best friends from college did not show up at the wedding. Her assignment was to be in charge of the guest book. To this day we still are puzzled as to why she neither appeared or let us know why she would not be there.
Unfortunately, before the sounding of the organ playing the wedding march music, Bill's maternal grandmother had mistakenly not been given her corsage and had somewhat loudly complained after seeing all other relatives identified and honored with beautiful flowers.
As Bill watched Phyllis walking down the aisle on the arm of her father, he was emotionally moved and tears flowed. Phyllis's grandmother loudly exclaimed so that everyone in the congregation could hear, "OH LOOK!!! HE'S CRYING!!!" Not surprisingly, this encouraged many more tears from Bill's eyes.
Bill's music professor, Aimo Kiviniemi, was the tenor soloist. His wife was the organist, and another music student was the violinist for the wedding. All the music was outstanding and the wedding was begun. Other than Bill's publically weeping, the wedding went without a hitch.
The next strange event happened a bit later in the evening. Phyllis and Bill had arranged to spend their first night of wedded bliss in a motel, only a few miles west of Phyllis's home town as we were headed for a summer in San Diego while Bill attended a music workshop. Just as Bill and Phyllis were about to retire for the night, a phone call came to our room. It was Bill's uncle telling us that Phyllis had forgotten her shoes, and Bill had forgotten his camera. Both were being left at the front desk of the motel. We got them the following morning.
