Love story: Couple’s rich history started in NC class

He spotted her across the room in a history class at North Central High School in 1955, and soon he had his heart set on making history with her.

Ron Cauvel smiled, recalling his first sight of his wife, Judy.

“She had this auburn Dutch bob,” he said. “She was pretty cute.”

Judy insists that her hair has never been auburn, but that doesn’t dull the shine of Ron’s memory. However, their first date was almost their last.

They went to a friend’s cabin on Long Lake, and on the way home Ron took a wrong turn.

“I turned left instead of right at the bridge, and as a result I didn’t get her home until 2 a.m..”

Judy’s parents were not pleased.

“I heard about it from my mom for a month,” Judy said.

After Ron graduated, he went to Alaska to work for a while. Judy was a senior, but she wrote to him faithfully.

“I still have all the letters,” he said.

When he returned, he attended Gonzaga University for a year and signed up for ROTC. He finished his education at Eastern Washingon University, graduating with an education degree

Ron knew Judy was the one for him; he just needed to convince her.

“At one point she acted like she wasn’t interested, and it really bothered me,” he said. “I had to get busy.”

With her high school graduation around the corner and his departure for training, plus two years of active duty looming, Ron proposed.

“It was pretty informal,” Judy said. “But I knew he was going into the service, and I didn’t want to be left behind.”

Ron nodded.

“It kind of evolved,” he said. “We both decided we wanted to share life’s adventure together.”

On July 19, 1957, they married at St. Paul’s Methodist Church. They drove to Yellowstone National Park for a weeklong honeymoon.

Married life was indeed an adventure for Judy.

“I was helpless,” she admitted. “My mother had done everything for me. She spoiled me to death.”

Ron said that at the wedding, his mother-in-law looked him in the eye and said, “You’d better take good care of her.”

He smiled.

“I agreed.”

In 1960, they loaded their ’59 Chevy Impala with their 6-month-old son, Craig, and drove across the country to Fort Knox, Kentucky, for Ron’s Army training. Then it was on to Fort Hood, Texas, for active duty. Son, Scott, arrived in December 1962.

When they moved back to Spokane, the school year had already begun and Ron scrambled to find a teaching job. He’d heard about an opening in Chewelah, Washington, and secured an interview.

“They asked me if I could teach PE to fourth- through sixth-graders and I said, sure,” recalled Ron. “Then they asked if I could teach junior high math and social studies and high school economics. I said yes. On any given day, I saw fourth-graders through high school seniors.”

In March 1963 a third son, Mike, completed their family.

Judy had her hands full with three boys born in three years, but she enjoyed the novelty of living in a small town in a tiny house with a pull-down staircase to the boys’ attic bedroom.

Still, she was happy when in 1964, Ron took a job with the Deer Park School District, and they returned to Spokane, buying a home on the North Side where they still live today.

For many years Ron taught in the Cheney School District, both at Betz and Windsor elementary schools, before retiring in 1993. Following his two years of active duty, he served 26 years in the Army Reserve, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.

In addition to caring for their home and family, Judy, 79, has been an Avon lady for 30 years.

“Most of my clients are older than me,” she said, smiling.

They’ve enjoyed several cruises and a trip to Europe, but they are happy to putter around their home and yard, and Ron, 80, has been an active member of several local car clubs.

As they celebrate 61 years of marriage on Thursday, Judy laughed when asked if they’re still happily married.

“Sometimes we are and sometimes we’re not,” she said. “We had his and hers TVs for a while.”

But over the years, they’ve learned to ebb and flow with the rhythms of life.

“You’ve got to go along to get along. You’ve got to be flexible,” said Ron of their enduring marriage. “It’s been a nice adventure, and I wouldn’t want to change it.”