Evelyn Husband Thompson and Bill Thompson

A particularly poignant love story comes from Evelyn Husband Thompson, whose late loved one was Col. Rick Douglas Husband, Commander of the ill-fated space shuttle Columbus that fell apart returning to earth Feb. 1, 2003.

Her new husband, Bill Thompson, and his late wife, Margie, were among the many who knew the family and were shocked watching the shuttle Columbus disintegrate over Texas before their eyes as the families of the crew waited at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“None of us anticipated anything going wrong,” said Evelyn. “We couldn’t believe it!” For some time, their only comfort was prayer. Evelyn’s book, High Calling, describes the trauma. Publisher was Thomas Nelson in 2003.

Evelyn didn’t know Bill very well, since he was gone much of the time, but the two families had met years ago at Grace Community Church in Houston. “Bill’s first wife, Margie, and daughter, Cassi, and I worked in children’s ministry every Sunday, as did Bill and Rick,” Evelyn said. “His son, Corey, was my daughter Laura’s Bible teacher at school the year Rick died.”

Bill Thompson at the time was Lt. Commander in the Naval Reserve, and served in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service after Sept. 11, which took him to Washington, D.C., Hawaii, the Middle East and Bahrain. Now, retired from the Navy, Bill is the regional sales manager for TexCel Inc., an industrial rubber hose company.

When Bill’s wife, Margie, developed breast cancer, she was diagnosed with only a short time to live. But often she prayed to God that she could live to see her children graduate from A&M and marry—which she did—living 13 years after her diagnosis.

“It was June of 2007 when Margie died, just one month after Cassi married. I was in Missouri with my son, Matthew, at Camp Kanakuk the day of  Margie’s funeral, so I called Bill when I returned home,” said Evelyn. It was Father’s Day.

“I know what you’re going through,” she told Bill. “It’s a hard road. If you ever want to talk, I will be happy to listen.” She had done that for several people and it seemed to help.

She never expected to hear from him, but Bill called the next week. He said he’d been thinking about her offer, and he asked her to lunch at the Flying Dutchman in Kemah.

“I knew Bill was an extremely nice guy, but this lunch really gave us a chance to get acquainted. When he arrived, he looked pretty rattled. I encouraged him to not feel uncomfortable with his grief or to try to move through it too quickly. We talked so much we hardly ate anything. Then we realized it was already four o’clock, but we were still telling our life stories. We went down to the boardwalk and walked by the water.”

“He walked me to my car, and gave me a sideways goodbye hug. I didn’t expect to hear from him again,” said Evelyn. “But, only a few days later, he called to say how much the visit had meant to him and invited me and my two children, Laura and Matthew, to an Astros game.”

Laura was dismayed. “Mama, that’s a date!” she said. “I agreed that even four-and-a-half years after my loss, I had no intention of dating…but I did think he was attractive, and I felt perhaps I was at that point of change,” said Evelyn. “Also, I mentioned that Bill was still grieving.”

Nonetheless, Laura was most uncomfortable during the game, but

“Every time our shoulders touched, I was surprised to feel an electric current! Bill felt the same thing.”

Then they began to meet and walk in the park before going to dinner, getting to know one another. Said Evelyn, “We felt very comfortable talking about our spouses.”

“We were not stepping into the other spouses’ shoes,” she explained, “but it was hard for my kids at first because they’d had me all to themselves. Now they had to let in somebody new. I told them we’re not trying to replace the other…we’re on a brand new journey of our own.”

The couple began to text one another on their cell phones. When they’d been dating about a month, they sensed the direction it was going.

“One evening we were watching a movie at home,” said Evelyn. “He got down on one knee and proposed.”

Jeweler James Avery makes shuttle charms, and Laura had bought one. Bill knew that a friendship had developed with Avery after the tragedy, so he asked him to design their engagement ring. Bill presented it near her Sept. 18 birthday at a surprise party. They married Jan. 5, 2008, at First Presbyterian Church in Galveston, where his parents wed 60 years ago. Rick’s best friend walked Evelyn down the aisle, and astronauts served as ushers. Said Evelyn: “What a joyous day of new beginnings!”

Celebrating their first anniversary, Evelyn offers this advice for a happy union:

“Place God first in your life and at the center of your marriage. We pray together every day.”

Kelli Kickerillo and Todd Forester

Math class at University of St. Thomas provided more than expertise with numbers for Kelli and Todd. It was her first college class, and she couldn’t help noticing the good looking guy sitting in front of her. And Todd noticed Kelli right away, so he moved into the seat behind her where he could see her. Finally, he began asking her for help with his homework so they’d have an opportunity to talk.

Said Kelli: “Todd is the kindest man I had ever met…aside from my father, of course. He cares what I have to say, he understands that I am very close to my parents and anyone I date has to fit nicely into that trio. Plus, he’s pretty cute, too!”

Todd added: “Kelli is the most fascinating woman I ever met. When I asked her questions about the homework, I could see how intelligent, patient and kind she was. She is the perfect combination of smart, beautiful and funny.”

Years of dating brought them closer and closer, and one day Todd took the old-fashioned approach. Without Kelli’s knowledge, Todd asked her parents’ permission to propose. But when he told them he was going to take a month to prepare the romantic proposal he’d dreamed of, they said they couldn’t wait that long to share this exciting news with Kelli.

“A few days later over dinner,” said Kelly, “ Todd told me that he had spoken to my parents the week before. “About what?” she asked. “About us getting married,” Todd said. They were so excited, they never finished dinner.

Now the wedding is set for Dec. 5 at St. John Vianney Catholic Church and the reception will be on the grounds of Kelli’s parents lovely home.