Pictured: Darwin and you may Julie (DeWitt) Garcia ‘19 on their wedding during the Sioux Drops, from inside the (left) and John and you may Shelly (Knudson) Rock ‘94 on their wedding day when you look at the Marshall, Minnesota, in the August 1995 (right).
You cannot enchantment “love” versus Ole, and two Augustana College or university people is evidence. Since previous Viking Weeks royalty, John and you will Shelly (Knudson) Rock ‘94 and you will Darwin and Julie (DeWitt) Garcia ‘19, took the headings off “queen and queen” and you may became them with the “wife and husband.”
Into Oct. 11, 1993, close friends, John and Shelly (Knudson) Rock ‘94, had been named Viking Weeks King and you will King, far to their wonder. After the coronation, John is actually quoted on the Augustana Mirror stating the good thing of going crowned king “is dealing with go almost everywhere with Shelly Knudson!”
“I think he had been variety of teasing with me since the he mentioned that on the newspaper, so that try fairly effortless,” Shelly chuckled.
Nearly 12 months with the time these were crowned, John recommended to Shelly. And you may, 10 months later on, the Rocks had been partnered.
The latest couple’s tale began from the Augustana in the 1990, when they was indeed both basic-12 months pupil-sports athletes – John, a great Peterson, Iowa, native, was a baseball user and you will Shelly, out-of . Each other inserted AU’s part out-of Fellowship out-of Christian Professional athletes (FCA).
John graduated one to spring having a last significant and you may secondary degree certificate, and Shelly stayed an additional season to accomplish this lady medical big. To the Oct. 18, 1994, just annually plus one few days after they have been crowned king and queen, John try expected by FCA to go back to Augustana and talk.
“It absolutely was and Shelly’s birthday celebration, and that i grabbed her in order to Minervas the downtown area,” John said. “Following, among my friends lived-in my personal dated dormitory place during the Solberg (Hall), thus i got her or him set it, and that i proposed to Shelly into the Solberg.
The guy wanted to offer age gazebo in which it come matchmaking
The couple had hitched during the August 1995, when you look at the Marshall, Minnesota. Brand new FCA praise ring performed musical toward ceremony, and apart from several family and siblings, their wedding party and you can guests were made right up away from Augustana alumni.
Now, nearly thirty years after they was in fact crowned Viking Months queen and you will queen, the happy couple stays in Peterson, Iowa, where John might have been providing on family ranch while doing law once the a regulating spouse regarding Rock Hutchinson, PLLP. Shelly ‘s the administrator movie director of your own Link off Violent storm Lake, a positive teens advancement nonprofit ministry. Brand new Stones keeps around three pupils, Joseph, twenty-four, Lincoln, 22, and Caleb, 20.
Which have almost three decades out of wedding less than the belts, new Stones told you acknowledging and prioritizing both are essential in order to one relationships.
“Stroll which have humility, always be happy to forgive and stay grateful into you to that you get to walk through lifetime having,” Shelly told you.
“Shelly is the identical now while the she was then because she very connects with folks perfectly,” John said. “She is as well as never daunted by having to do stuff that need done, so she is very well-balanced that way.”
Both Shelly and John said these are generally grateful one to Augustana supplied them possibilities to develop because individuals, and help and you may support.
During the 1994, a couple months immediately after Viking Weeks, John and you can Shelly made their matchmaking authoritative
“It had been an awesome college sense,” John told you. “I experienced a brilliant education, close friends and you can an excellent partner.”
Whenever Darwin and you will Viking Months King and King, thank you on group was basically noisy because the longtime few posed getting photographs, beaming at every other.
The latest Garcia’s tale first started into the 2016, after their first 12 months at the s Work environment (IPO) Rendezvous where Darwin are giving a demonstration into the their home nation, Honduras. Once discovering they had a shared friend, the two started initially to cam and you can package analysis schedules. Yet not, the termination of the latest educational season created Darwin do go homeward to help you Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to your june, and Julie to help you Yankton, Southern Dakota. They reconnected throughout the slip, and some days afterwards, Darwin had a surprise.
“I grabbed this lady to own a stroll, and in addition we avoided about gazebo because of the Administration Building,” Darwin told you. “I’d my buddy drop off certain cupcakes in my situation one said, ‘Are you presently my spouse?’”
Julie accepted, and you will three years and you may many investigation times later on, the couple finished off Au inside the 2019. Darwin are an excellent physics and you can math twice significant, and you may Julie was a nursing big. Immediately after graduation, it relocated to Rochester, Minnesota, in which Julie try a registered nurse at the Mayo Infirmary Crisis Company, and Darwin was a great Ph.D. applicant at Mayo Medical center Scholar School out-of Biomedical Sciences.
From inside the , Darwin had various other surprise. He’d a photographer and you may friends willing to assist him eliminate it off. After that, the new pandemic hit, and you may Minnesota try towards lockdown. Once the Julie is actually handling patients which have COVID-19, the happy couple felt like it actually was better not to ever travelling.
“I developed a good scavenger look, and i shared with her it absolutely was a graduate school activity that I needed the lady to try out,” Darwin told you. “They added the lady to an excellent gazebo in town in which I’d photographs hung-up and you may cupcakes again, however, this time it said, ‘Will you wed me?’”
“I’m sort of disturb about how precisely unaware I was, like, I truly didn’t come with tip,” Julie laughed. “Really don’t consider a single keyword he said, it was really unique just how long and effort the guy put in they. And you may, the newest cupcakes put they back to where it started, that was extremely nice.”
The happy couple tied up the fresh knot inside Sioux Drops, for the , a celebration Julie known as both “an excellent Latino-Midwest blend relationships” and you will “the best day actually ever https://datingmentor.org/texas-dallas-dating/.” The wedding – an effective Lutheran and you will Catholic provider shared – are loaded with Augustana associations. Fr. Kevin O’Dell, AU’s previous chaplain, did the fresh new Catholic portion of the service, and you will former Teacher out of Spanish Sam Ogdie interpreted the new service to possess Darwin’s family unit members, who was simply here from Honduras.
New Garcias desire to in the future hold a marriage lobby when you look at the Honduras right after which visit certainly its islands because of their honeymoon. Before this, the happy couple is actually grateful having Augustana taking him or her along with her.
“Julie finds out contentment into the possibly the smallest away from something and certainly will very transform my day – if the I’m stressed and you will overloaded, she can lighten my personal date together with her delight,” said Darwin.
“As opposed to Augie, there is probably not a way we might have even came across,” Julie added. “So, the audience is merely most thankful for Augustana as in which more could one to relationship takes place?”
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