US -
"At Last" - Saturday, September 27, 2008 - we were married following 27 years together!
Under clear, sunny skies, surrounded by the love of family and friends, accompanied by the stains of Etta James' "At Last", we processed up the steps of the decks of our blufftop WindandSea home before descending into the inner courtyard where we were married by our neighbor and friend, Judge Richard Kalustian, attended by Jim Campisano, David Newhouse, Karen Kuehn and Megan Wosaba in a ceremony written by ourselves.
This was followed by a champagne reception at our home with toasts by our nieces Rocio Bravo and Maggie Bear.
Later in the afternoon, we proceeded to a catered reception at The Sea Ranch Del Mar Center Hall, which concluded with the serving of our unique wedding cake (below) as created by Franny Burney, owner of Franny's Cup and Saucer in Point Arena.
Red-crowned Cranes, fashioned from sugar paste, flew upward on the different tiers, symbols of love and fidelity as they mate for life in the wild.
To see a short slide-show of our wedding day, compiled by long-time buddy Jack Odell, please surf over to http://www.photoshow.com/watch/du2Cf3Cd
To see a more detailed presentation of images from our wedding, reception, or rehearsal and of our family, please click on this link to our friend and wedding photographer, Craig Tooley's, site (thank you, Craig) http://web.me.com/theruffians1/Rich_Dean_Wedding/Wedding.html
Despite the unfair passage of Prop. 8 later that year, the California Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that our marriage was and should remain valid. We hope that one day, all same-sex couples who wish to marry will be allowed to do so: not to confront anyone's religious beliefs, but as a matter of fairness and equality.
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FAMILY AND FRIENDS -
The people in our lives...though some are no longer with us, they'll remain forever in our hearts.....
Dean's Family (l - r): His nieces, Tracy and Maggie, in the front; his Mother, Phyllis; his sister, Nancy; and Phyllis' husband, Keith, in the middle row; and Nancy's husband, Ken; his nephew, Lynn's son-Matt; his brothers, Gary and Lynn; and Dean
Nieces: Maggie and Tracy with Ms. Kittie
Dean staying warm on the protected side of a tussock while observing Royal Albatross up close/personal on Campbell Island
Dean enjoyed reconnecting with his first cousin, Dennis, and meeting his wife, Kathy, in southern California during April 2004 after having not seen him for nearly 40 years.
Dennis' sister, Alice, and her husband, Carroll, who live in eastern Iowa, hosted us for a 'scrumptious' lunch at their home in May 2005.
Dean's first cousin, Rita (his left) and her daughter, Shari, came for lunch at WindandSea early June 2004.
Dean with his nephew, Matt, who visited us on the coast in 2004, also.
Rich in a Naiad near Snares Island
Rich's brother, Doug, confirming a bird sighting during a 2002 CBC
Rest of Rich's family: (l to r) nephew, Graham with his Mom, Karen, Rich's sister; niece Rocio and nephew Ryan with Jerry, Rich's youngest brother, and Patty, his wife
Jerry and Patty with their family in their Long Beach home---March 2004
Rich with his sister Karen and her son Graham during a hike at TSR in July 2005.
Ryan and some of the trophies he's helped his BB team garner.
Karen and Graham went with us to a Giants' game at SBC Park in July 2005.
Rich and Graham took 8 rides on various roller coasters at Six Flags in July 2005. Here they zoom past on the KONG!
Rich talked Dean into riding the wooden roller coaster, Roar, at Six Flags during the same outing. HANG ON!!!
Spring 2005 - a year for grads as Patty gets her degree from Cal State - Long Beach
Patty and Jerry's daughter, Rocio, graduated from UCLA with a double major in June 2005. She has since taken a job as the Community Development Co-ordinator for the Girl Scouts of the Bay Area.
Ryan surfing Ocean Beach in San Francisco during their July 2006 trip to Northern CA (above) and surfing 'his' local Huntington Beach April 2006 in a collage compiled by his 'Uncle Doug' (below)
And Maggie (left) with her friend, Crystal, graduated from Nevada High School in Iowa.
Dean's brother from New York City, Gary, and Rich made LOTS of sandwiches for Maggie's Graduation Party.
Dean's sister, Maggie's Mother, stemmed LOTS of strawberries, too.
Maggie flashes a big smile upon opening her Graduation gift from her Uncles!
Dean visits with Mark and Theres during Maggie's Graduation Party May 2005.
Rich's first cousin, Tom and his wife, Suzanne along with Chloe hosted us during our visit to NW Iowa in May 2005.
Stephani Oswald, Tom's sister-in-law, showed us their new puppy while we were there.
Rich's Aunt Lois and Uncle Mel in their home during a visit in May 2005
Rich with his first cousin, Tom, Lois and Mel's son, who had lunch with us.
Rich's first cousin, Bill, (Tom's youngest brother) with his wife Deb and 2 of their 3 daughters, Laura and Molly, stopped to visit us at his parents' Lois and Mel, too.
Mark and Roxanne Steine with their dog at their home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. While Rich was still a medical student at the U of I, Mark served as one of his Family Practice preceptors. As Mark had done his residency at Valley Medical Center in Fresno, he influenced Rich's decision to go there for his residency, also. They had not seen each other for 29 years when we got together in late May 2005.
Terry and Jose went hiking with us to the Gualala Point Beach in July 2005.
Bart and Terry hiking with our neighbors 'extraordinaire', Megan and Chuck.
Megan and her daughter, Shannon, at The Sea Ranch Lodge
David and his wife, Naomi, are both former colleagues of Rich and close friends still.
R to L: Patsy Robinson-Mendel, holding Jordon, along with David, Carl and Sarah Mendel on the deck of their home in New Jersey. Patsy was a former colleague of Rich's at K-P but now practices in New Jersey. Rich provided her prenatal care and delivered David in 1989. Carl is an endocrinologist involved in the pharmaceutical industry and Sarah is in college at Colgate.
Hiking with Dick at Crater Lake, OR
Our birding mentor, Rae, and her dog, Kia, with Dean
Brian and Sue share a dessert
Linda and Elaine in their 'bowling' vests on Christmas Day 2003
Sheree and Steve on Christmas Day 2003
Pam and Richard also on Christmas Day 2003
Jim and Maryann with one of their sons, Chris, at Christmas 2003
Wine tasting with Paula and the members of the Society of Medical Friends of Wine
Paula joined us for one of our Giants' baseball games at SBC Park.
This game had fireworks afterwards and Paula and Rich have donned their 'glasses'.
Robert and Paul enjoying the hot tub at WindandSea
Paul and Gordon hiking along the coast July 4, 2005.
Buff and Jerry, adventurous friends who treasure wilderness travel, photography and videography, also.
In a photo Buff took while she and Jerry were hosting guests at our WindandSea home in May 2005 are (l to r) Preston Mutinda from Kenya, who was our guide there in 1992 and 2002, along with Linda, Carol (whom we've traveled with several times) and Jerry on the bluff near our house.
Peggy and Dan as we visited the Chapel at Duke in September 2003.
With Connie and Jack, Peggy's brother, in front of their home at The Landings near Savannah in 2003.
Our favorite Burbank birder, Shirley, joins us for dinner in The Seychelles aboard Le Ponant.
We also met Anne and Bill Wesp aboard Le Ponant while sailing through The Seychelles. Email has allowed us to stay 'in-touch' until we saw each other again at the New York City Yacht Club where we were their guests for lunch in May 2006.
Sue and Billy and their daughters Lauren and 'Alex'
Rich and Nancy in front of our tree - Christmas 2009
"Schulers" all: Dean, Cynthia, Jane, and Sharon
Gail, our former neighbor, with one of her sons, Bob
BJ and Patrick preparing mango margaritas
CJ here for a 'coast' fix
Anne and David enjoying the deck of Le Ponant in the Indian Ocean
Marite and Dan enjoying a leisurely breakfast in their Santiago home
Nearly 93, Norma is a long-time birding friend, also.
Nick Skezas, a thoughtful friend whom we met on our Total Solar Eclipse trip through Egypt, is a radiologist in Chicago. He joined us for tea at the Old Cataract's Hotel, now a Sofitel Hotel, on the Nile River in Aswan.
We also met Caroline Mills and Simon Harris on our eclipse tour of Egypt. Physicians in the UK, they enjoyed the sunny Valley of the Queens above.
Mark James relaxing in Southern CA where he is now a proud homeowner. To celebrate this, we had a stained glass window commissioned for his new house. It appears below-
Star DeHaven, who also lives at TSR, is the artist for the stained glass.
Dean with a friend since their days in Des Moines: Mary, and her husband, Ray
In the center, Linda and Dave, friends with Rich since their college days, along with their kids: Susie and Steve.
Juana, who was a 'new' RN and worked with Rich when he was a 'new' MD, visited us with her husband, Dale. She now has her PhD and educates future nurses in Oregon.
Susie, whom Rich first met at U of Iowa in 1966 while they were both in an NSF summer program, hosted us for dinner in Iowa City during a May 2005 visit.
Brent, who has been our guide/driver throughout Botswana and Namibia during both of our safaris there, with his wife, Ashleigh, whom we met on our trip in 2005. (photo from Brent)
Grant, Brent's younger brother, visited us at WindandSea in February 2006 along with Buff and Jerry Corsi. He had been their guide in Botswana and Namibia in 2005 while Brent was again ours.
Rich in front of The Sea Ranch Chapel in our new 2006 Lexus 400h - Hybrid SUV, which we've nicknamed "Harry" and refer to the female GPS guide as "Roberta".
Ryan with his family following his graduation from Long Beach's Wilson High June '08
With his Uncles, too
Matt carpooled with Rich and another friend as they all attended the Fall semester at College of the Redwoods - Mendocino Campus 90 minutes away. He also helped Rich deliver Christmas gifts for Project Santa at the local Pomo Rancheria.
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