Wednesday, February 21, 2018

A hearwarming love story

Shirley and Herald are newlyweds!

2/14/18 Chatterbox
Betty Kaiser

This is a love story that will warm your heart. It is a whirlwind romance that is pure enchantment in every detail. The bride and groom are adorable octogenarians who are still young at heart. The new bride says that their story is proof that “God works in mysterious ways….”

Last year, Shirley McDaniel and Herald Callison celebrated Valentine’s Day at a church dinner—separately. They were acquaintances but not sweethearts. Both were now widowed but they and their families had belonged to Cottage Grove Bible Church for about 29 years. During that time, they had established respect and rapport for each other through casual meetings in his Bible classes and her service as a Deaconess.

Shirley was born in West Virginia but met her first husband Aaron McDaniel at a Bible College in North Carolina. They had four children together—Sue Allen, Veronica, Dennis and Jennifer. That now includes 15 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. During Aaron’s ministry career, they lived in many places before they moved to Cottage Grove in 1987. Here, Shirley worked for Operation Independence for 18 years. They had been married 49 years when Aaron passed away in 2008.

 Shirley, now 81, had been a widow for 9 years. She had not thought about re-marriage—at least not much. She kept busy with her work, family, church and travels to visit her extensive family across the country. In fact, she had told Pastor Singer that she was planning a trip to Nicaragua to stay awhile with her sister. She loves to travel.

Herald was born in Santa Rosa, Calif. but later moved to Portland, OR where he married Rosalee Schmidt. They had three children together—Kathy, Douglas and Melvin. Four grandsons and 3 great-grandchildren came along later. They moved to C.G. in 1985. Rosalee was a longtime kindergarten teacher at Oak Park Christian School. Herald was an electrical engineer and retired from Kimwood in 1995. Rosalee passed away in 2013 after 59 years of marriage.

Herald, now 87, was busy but lonely. He decided to have a talk with Pastor Singer who asked him if he had thought about getting married again. Herald nodded his head yes and the pastor asked whom he was interested in. The answer came quickly—Shirley McDaniel. “Well,” the pastor said, “She’s about to leave town. You’d better get with it!” Herald wasted no time in complying. Shirley was clueless what was coming.

That next Sunday, Shirley and another couple joined Herald for lunch at his house. After the other couple left, Herald asked Shirley to stay—and he proposed marriage! He recalls blurting it out because…there was no time to waste. Shirley was shocked but replied, “Let me think about it.” Three days later she called, accepted his proposal. She momentarily wondered “what have I done?” Followed by, “Goody, goody!”

And that was that. When I asked, “How did the first date go?” They burst out laughing and said, “There wasn’t one.”

The next week at church the pastor announced that Shirley was getting married. I’m told that everyone looked around and said, “Who’s she marrying?” Herald stood up and said, “Me!” The congregation erupted in laughter and applause. Pastor Singer now has the title of matchmaker. In the space of a two-week courtship there were no naysayers. His family had been encouraging him to ask her. Her family didn’t have the foggiest idea what was going on but were thrilled.

They chose July 8, 2017 as the wedding date—just a few months away. Everyone pitched in. His daughter made the cake. Her daughters helped with the planning and organizing. They used the punch bowl set from Shirley’s first wedding and all the attendants were (of course) family. Everyone played a part. Even the photographer was family. It was, as the bride said, “A really big deal!”

On their wedding day, the bride wore a gorgeous lace wedding gown and the groom wore a striking navy-blue suit. The dress and suit were purchased in Florence at a Goodwill store! Seeing Herald’s face light up at his first glimpse of his bride is priceless. I am told the ceremony was warm, loving and hilarious as pastor admitted his ‘meddling’ in setting the couple up. They said their vows, slipped on their wedding rings and were pronounced husband and wife.

Shirley’s smile says it all. Single no more, they happily walked back up the aisle as husband and wife. After the reception, they jumped into a 1952 Chevy truck (it was Herald’s dad’s) for the honeymoon. As they drove away to life’s next chapter, “Just Married” was on the window, tin cans were clanging and a bright future ahead.

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Callison! God knew what He was doing and the best is yet to come!

Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox @ bchatty@bettykaiser.com