Louise M. Gouge here. When I was young and working in
Denver, I met a new friend at church, and we hit it off right away. We both
needed to economize, so we decided to share an apartment. Then she invited me
to double date with her and her boyfriend by going out with his roommate. I was
reluctant. After all, I’d always said I would never date OR marry a redheaded
man or one with a “funny” or peculiar last name. So some redhaired guy named David
Gouge didn’t appeal to me at all. I mean, how do you even pronounce that last name?
Gowj? Gorge? Goog? But at my roomie’s pleading, I finally agreed. 
To my surprise and delight, it turned out David was tall, cute, hardworking, and, best of all, funny. (This picture was taken just before he went to Viet Nam.)
For a week or so, we went out
almost every night. You know, the usual things: dancing, movies, house hunting.
What? House hunting? Oh, I forgot to say that my roomie and her beau had been
dating since high school and he really wanted to marry her, hence the house
hunting…with David’s and my help, of course. Pretty soon it was very clear to
David and me…and my roomie…that her
beau wasn’t the right guy for her. By the end of two weeks, even he could see
they weren’t compatible, so they broke up.
But that funny, handsome,
redhaired David? He kept on calling to ask me out. And I kept on saying “yes,”
even when he asked me to marry him!
We were married on June 11,
1965, just two and two-thirds months (82 days!) after we met. That was fifty-two years ago this coming Sunday.
For our fiftieth wedding anniversary, June 2015, our children gave us a very lovely party.
Our minister son led us in renewing our vows.
Each of our four children has at least a smidgeon of red in her/his hair, from strawberry blonde to rich auburn, and I’ve come to regard that as my favorite hair color. I even dyed my own hair red for a few years! See picture at top of page. At right, see most of our clan.
As for that peculiar last name,
today when people inevitably mispronounce it, we say, “It rhymes with Scrooge.”
Now that’s funny!
Posts
What a great love story Louise. And you looked lovely in red hair. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story! I've told many a friend to be careful about those "nevers." They seem to come to pass. LOL.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet love story, Louise. It's funny how life often gives us the last thing we think we want. Sounds like your friend was a great matchmaker. Blessings!
Louise, I love your story! What a special romance. So were you an Army wife for the first few years? Thank your sweet hubby for his service!
ReplyDeleteLouise, thanks for sharing. Just delightful. And I'm so glad your funny red-headed hubby came home safe from Viet Nam so you could share this sweet story with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comments. About David's military service: He was drafted over a year after we got married, about the same time we got pregnant with our first child. I should have made that clear.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing everyone's story. I was the opposite of you. I had an unusual maiden name (Chelikowsky -- anyone in the US with that last name is related to me, probably closely) and couldn't help thinking Gordon was a such a common name. I knew it would hurt my husband deeply if I didn't take Gordon as my last name, so I made Chelikowky my middle middle name.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Middle middle name. I love it!
DeleteScrooge is the last connotation I'd put with Gouge--sweet Louise Gouge, especially. And as a (mostly) redhead (lots of it is gray now), I'm glad your own redhead did not disappoint.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Arlene. You made my day.
DeleteHow sweet! It's wonderful that you've lived a happily-ever-after life. Red heads are wonderful. My family is full of them, too. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I do love redheads now. :-)
DeleteThanks so much for sharing your love story, Louise! And congratulations on 52 years of marriage!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Myra. BTW, my middle name is Myra, and I write as Louise M. Gouge rather than using my maiden name initial, J for Jacobs, because it makes a prettier signature. I think we talked about this a few years ago, right?
DeleteCongratulations on 52 years!!!!! I enjoyed your story. My husband and I married after knowing each other 9 weeks. He wanted to marry in 4 weeks. I was a Signal Captain in the Michigan National Guard and had Annual Training in 4 weeks. I said I could put a wedding together at the same time I was preparing for Annual Training, so the wedding had to wait until after! It still makes for a good story!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome, Jennifer. Thank you for your service!
DeleteWhat a wonderful story!! God's plans are so much better than ours.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Terri!
DeleteWhat a lovely story!! It's truly like one of our books. Love hearing these stories.
ReplyDeleteI know. I've written it as a short story with much more detail, but I'd like to make it a full length book.
DeleteI, too had a whirlwind romance that lasted through the years. Great story.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patricia.
DeleteLove the photos. Awesome story :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Heather!
Delete52 years married! Congratulations!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margaret!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the 52 years! Such a beautiful love story.
ReplyDelete