Cute Meets

Illustration Courtesy of Alli Arnold

When we asked you about finding true love on campus, we didn't expect to find so much ardor in academia. Here's how Cupid's arrow struck a few of you.

It all started with alphabetical seating in a graduate economics class in the fall of 1939. Genevieve Patterson and I sat next to each other. I quickly decided she was smarter than I was and that this was a girl I needed to know better! We intended to get married, but Pearl Harbor came along, and as a graduate of ROTC, I was called to active duty. Despite the odds against my survival, we decided to get married in February 1942 and are still together after 62 years.

—Louis B. Perry '38, M.A. '41, Ph.D. '50, Walla Walla, Wash.

While Ralph and I were dating, he asked me to go skiing in Mammoth with a group of friends. When I learned they slept in tents, I said, "no thanks!" We were married the Saturday after I graduated in 1955 and now live full time in Mammoth.

—Patti Ingli Rea '55, Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

At the graduation ceremony in 1963, I sat next to a very nice guy named Arthur. I was extraordinarily shy in those days, but he started talking to me and asked me if I wanted to celebrate our graduation. We got married on July 4, 1965, and next year will celebrate our 40th anniversary. How is that for a last chance to find a husband in college?

—Janet Schultz Cupples '63, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Our first date, October 5, 1963, was a disaster. We went to the Hollywood Bowl to see Dave Brubeck, Barbra Streisand and Sammy Davis Jr. The car battery died at the Bowl entrance. We rolled down the hill and parked at a gas station and walked back up, missing Brubeck completely. On the way back to campus, the battery died again, and Reva lost her 15 minutes of grace time for lockout. Not everything turned out badly, though. This past June, Reva and I celebrated 40 years of marriage.

—Harvey Kern '64, Oak Park, Calif.

In the beginning, Michelle thought of me as a friendly (albeit strange) techno-music-loving geek, and I thought of her as a freshman bound for Sorority Row with her friends. In early April 2000, I realized I had been attracted to Michelle for quite some time, and later that month, Michelle told me of similar feelings for me. Today, we celebrate seven months of being married, and it's been everything I could have asked for.

—Foster Brereton '01, Pasadena, Calif.

NEXT UP: What song makes you nostalgic for your UCLA days? Whether it's by Bing Crosby or Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi or Britney Spears, tell us why that tune takes you back. E-mail aburke@support.ucla.edu, send a fax to (310) 794-6883 or write to Bruin Walk Editor, UCLA Magazine, 10920 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1500, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Please include a phone number and city of residence.