Pictured: Darwin and you will Julie (DeWitt) Garcia ‘19 on their wedding when you look at the Sioux Falls, in the (left) and John and Shelly (Knudson) Material ‘94 on their big day when you look at the Marshall, Minnesota, when you look at the August 1995 (right).
You can’t spell “love” versus Ole, as well as 2 Augustana School couples was evidence. Since former Viking Weeks royalty, John and you may Shelly (Knudson) Stone ‘94 and you can Darwin and Julie (DeWitt) Garcia ‘19, took the headings out-of “queen and you can queen” and you will became him or her on the “wife and husband.”
Towards the Oct. 11, 1993, close friends, John and you can Shelly (Knudson) Stone ‘94, was called Viking Months Queen and you may King, much to their amaze. Adopting the coronation, John are quoted from the Augustana Echo claiming the best part of getting crowned king “is dealing with wade every where that have Shelly Knudson!”
“In my opinion he had been style of flirting beside me once the he mentioned that regarding newspaper, to make sure that was rather simple,” Shelly chuckled.
Nearly 1 year on the go out these were crowned, John recommended to help you Shelly. And you may, 10 days after, brand new Rocks was in fact partnered.
New couple’s facts began at the Augustana in 1990, once they were one another first-year pupil-professional athletes – John, a great Peterson, Iowa, local, are a baseball player and you may Shelly, regarding . Both registered AU’s chapter out-of Fellowship from Religious Sports athletes (FCA).
John finished one to springtime with a past big and you can second training certificate, and you can Shelly resided an additional 12 months to-do the woman breastfeeding big. For the October. 18, 1994, merely annually and one few days once they were crowned queen and you can queen, John try requested from the FCA to go back to Augustana and you may talk.
“It was together with Shelly’s birthday celebration, and i grabbed the woman so you can Minervas the downtown area,” John told you. “Then, one of my buddies lived-in my dated dorm room in Solberg (Hall), thus i got her or him set it, and i proposed so you can Shelly in the Solberg.
The couple got hitched in the August 1995, during the Marshall, Minnesota. New FCA worship band did music for the service, and you will aside from several members of the family and you will siblings, their main wedding party and you will tourist have been made up out-of Augustana alumni.
Today, nearly three decades after they have been crowned Viking Days king and you may king, the happy couple stays in Peterson, Iowa, in which John could have been enabling for the loved ones farm when you are doing rules since the a regulating lover of Stone Hutchinson, PLLP. Shelly ‘s the executive movie director of Link of Storm River, a positive childhood advancement nonprofit ministry. The Rocks enjoys about three college students, Joseph, 24, Lincoln, 22, and you may Caleb, 20.
Which have nearly three decades away from matrimony not as much as their straps, the fresh Rocks said recognizing and you can prioritizing both are very important so you can people matchmaking.
“Go with humility, be prepared to forgive and stay pleased towards one to that you will get simply to walk owing to lifestyle which have,” Shelly said.
“Shelly is the same now because the she ended up being in that she extremely links with individuals really well,” John said. “The woman is also never apprehensive with the thought of having to do things which need to get done, so she actually is really balanced in that way.”
Each other Shelly and you will John said these are typically thankful one Augustana granted him or her chances to develop due to the fact some body, plus service and you can reassurance.
“It was a fabulous university experience,” John told you. “I got a brilliant education, close friends and an effective wife.”
When Darwin and you may Viking Days King and you can King, thank you from the audience was indeed loud since longtime partners presented for photo, beaming at each and every most other.
The fresh new Garcia’s story first started inside the 2016, at the conclusion of its first 12 months during the s Office (IPO) Rendezvous where Darwin was providing a speech on the their family country, Honduras. Immediately after training they had a common buddy, both started initially to chat and you can package research schedules. Although not, the conclusion the newest instructional seasons designed Darwin would go homeward to help you Tegucigalpa, Honduras, towards the summer, and you may Julie so you can Yankton, Southern area Dakota. They reconnected on the slip, and some weeks after, Darwin had a shock.
“I took their to own a walk, and we also averted about gazebo of the Government Building,” Darwin said. “I got my pal fall off specific cupcakes for me that said, ‘Have you been my personal spouse?’”
Julie accepted, and you may 3 years and you may many analysis schedules later, the couple graduated from Bien au when you look at the 2019. Darwin is good physics and you can math twice big, and you may Julie is a nursing major. Immediately after graduation, it transferred to Rochester, Minnesota, in which Julie was a rn during the Mayo Medical center Emergency Agencies, and Darwin is a Ph.D. applicant during the Mayo Medical center Scholar College or university regarding Biomedical Sciences.
In , Darwin had other shock. He’d a photographer and family relations ready to assist your remove it off. After that, this new pandemic hit, and you may Minnesota was to the lockdown. Given that Julie try handling patients that have COVID-19, the happy couple felt like it actually was better not to travelling.
“We created a great scavenger search, and that i shared with her it absolutely was a grad college hobby you to I desired her to test out,” Darwin told you. “They added her so you’re able to a beneficial gazebo in the city where I got photographs hung up and you can cupcakes again, however, now it told you, ‘Do you ever wed me personally?’”
“I’m variety of troubled about how unaware I happened to be, like, I must say i didn’t come with idea,” Julie chuckled. “I really don’t consider a single word the guy told you, it is actually very special just how long and energy the guy set in it. And you may, the newest cupcakes delivered they back to where it started, that was most nice.”
The happy couple tied up the new knot for the Sioux Falls, for the , an event Julie described as both “a beneficial Latino-Midwest mixing wedding” and “an informed go out actually.” The marriage – good Lutheran and you will Catholic provider shared – was laden with Augustana connections. Fr. Kevin O’Dell, AU’s former chaplain, did the brand new Catholic portion of the ceremony, and former Professor regarding Spanish Sam Ogdie translated the newest service getting Darwin’s members of the family, who was truth be told there regarding Honduras.
Brand new Garcias desire to as time goes on keep a married relationship reception into the Honduras right after which travel to one of the countries for their vacation. Before this, the happy couple is actually grateful getting Augustana getting them together.
“Julie finds out delight from inside the perhaps the littlest from one thing and certainly will really alter my personal go out – in the event that I’m troubled and overwhelmed, she will lighten my big date with her pleasure,” told you Darwin.
“As opposed to Augie 
, there was probably not a chance that people would have even satisfied,” Julie extra. “So, the audience is merely really grateful to have Augustana due to the fact where else could one partnership happen?”