Monticello Live

If you don’t have it in your heart, it doesn’t matter what you’ve got in your head. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.
Barbara Johnson

This quote is an expression of how one Monticello couple has been ‘together for life’. Committed to education and committed to each other have gone hand in hand for Louis and Bobbie Dunlap. Here is their story:

Louis and Bobbie met at Shorter Junior college in NLR in 1956. Bobbie Binns Dunlap grew up in Monticello. And Louis was raised in West Helena. They both transfered to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff after they completed junior college. It was UAPB they started dating. They loved spending time together and knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but they did not let their love for each other keep them from completing their education.

Bobbie graduated with an Elementary Education degree in 1960, and Louis finished his math degree in 1962. The couple committed their lives to each other at a house wedding with friends and family on December 23, 1961. After a couple of short teaching jobs around south Arkansas, Louis and Bobbie decided to make Monticello their home. They both landed their first Monticello teaching jobs at the segregated Drew Schools east of town. Bobbie taught for 9 years at the Drew Schools. She spent the majority of her 31 years as a teacher teaching first grade at WC Whaley. Her love of teaching paid off for her in 1990 when she was named Monticello’s Teacher of the Year. After she retired from teaching she worked for the school district in the Parenting Program.

Louis loved to teach and be taught. He taught math at Drew Schools for 11 years. After integration he taught math at MHS. In 1969 he completed his Masters degree at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. But because of his love for math and teaching he took many advanced study classes. UT Austin, Texas Southern University, U of A, Southeastern University of Oklahoma. He felt that it was important to stay updated in the different ideas and trends in math. He often shared his findings with colleagues. It was after a lecture in 1973 Louis gave at a teachers conference that E.V. Gray, chairman of UAM math department, approached him and asked him to consider becoming a math professor at UAM. That fall Louis became the first African-American professor at UAM. He enjoyed the smaller classes and close-knit atmosphere at UAM. He taught there for 23 years and retired in 1996.

Today the Dunlaps have been married for 45 years. They enjoy being together every day. Louis keeps himself busy with work around the house and loves to garden. Bobbie is a member of the Effie Brooks Civic Club and stays busy with community service projects. They attend Holmes Chapel Presbyterian Church. The couple enjoys exercising together throughout the week at South Arkansas Rehabilitation’s Healthy STEPS program for senior citizens. They have one daughter, Sharon, and two grandchildren who they enjoy spending time with now that they are retired.

The secret to their love story is in how they treat each other. The fact that they are both teachers has only helped in their marriage. They learned early on the importance of communicating and respecting each other. They make a point to treat each other today the same way they did when they were dating. A day does not go by without affection and words of affirmation which has kept them together for life – Louis and Bobbie Dunlap.

Theirs is a story of love…with an unusual beginning. Donny and Felicia actually knew one another because he dated her cousin for a while. Then after they’d broken up, he ran into Felicia by chance on a Friday night cruising town. Felicia was a little mad at her old boyfriend on this particular night and wanted to “get at him”; so when Donny asked her to “ride around”, a 1980’s-small-town-teenage-pastime, she said yes. The rest, as they say, is history.

After Donny and Felicia had dated a couple of years, they decided to make it forever and get married July 4, 1986. Instead of a big ceremony with lots of onlookers and fanfare, the couple wanted to keep it simple, so they called the preacher and were married in his home. Then they called their families from the hotel room on their honeymoon. Twenty years and two kids later, they’re just as happy to be together and more in love than before. Their marriage has stood the test of time.

Donny joined the Army National Guard when he was just seventeen years old because he just knew that was what he wanted to do. Although he enjoyed it immensely because of the work and the people he got to know, he had no idea where this job would land him. It wasn’t until he was almost to the end of his career with the Guard that he was called up to serve at Camp Cook, Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He left in October of 2003, leaving behind Felicia and two teenage children, and did not return until March 2005. During this indescribable 18-month separation, Felicia says they were able to stay in touch through instant messaging online. He worked in an office setting overseas, taking care of supplies for the troops, and had internet access after he’d been there a few months. She would set her alarm and get up at 2:00 or 3:00 am just to steal away some time to chat with him online. It’s how they kept up with one another and stayed connected. Four or five times a week they could communicate this way. Felicia says this helped her cope with him being gone, along with her involvement in the Monticello Family Support Group, where she served as President. The group did fund raisers to send care packages to the troops and leaned on one another for understanding and support. It was encouraging for Felicia to be around others who were going through the same thing.

Married life is great for this couple. They have grown closer and closer and say it’s gotten better and better as the years go by. They lead a simple life, working hard and spending family time together. Attributing the success of their love story to God, Felicia says, “We have a really good marriage. He four-wheeler rides, I ride with him… honesty, respect, and trust made a good marriage. I think what makes the best marriage is having God come first and then your spouse second. If God’s not in it then you don’t have much of a marriage.” Donny agrees with her wholeheartedly.

Donny and Felicia Shepherd know what true love is. They experience it daily. They are… Together for life.

We’ve enjoyed bringing you the One Monticello Life feature each Sunday. During the month of February, we will be featuring four different couples, from four different eras. We felt this would be an interesting twist for this Valentine’s month! The theme will be Together for Life.

JB & Amy Duncan met as college students at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. They both attended the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and became involved there. Although the saw each other often, their first “date” came by accident.

Several of their friends went bowling one evening and had planned to meet afterwards at the movies. However, upon arrival at the theater, JB found that Amy was the only one present, and vice versa. They proceeded to the movie together, and after the show, JB asked Amy, “So, what are we doing tomorrow night?” This began an interesting courtship.

For six weeks after the night at the movies, JB & Amy were together just like any other dating couple, but their courtship had begun during the Iraq war. When JB was 17, he had joined the Army National Guard and committed to serve his country. However, he admits that he mainly joined for the college money offered.

Four days before Valentine’s Day, JB was called up to serve in Iraq. He spent two months at Fort Polk, Iowa for mobilization training. Their physical separation, however, did not keep JB and Amy from connecting with one another. They continued their relationship by talking daily on their cell phones. They both realized that their relationship was becoming more significant.

In March, JB had a weekend pass to go home. Although only a month away from deployment, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Amy. During the weekend, JB asked Amy to marry him on his knees while on a nature trail at Cane Creek. Amy excitedly accepted, although she knew the details of a wedding would be overshadowed by the war in Iraq.

JB left for his service assignment in April 2003, engaged but unsure of how long his term would be. He was a motor transport operator who escorted convoys. His job was to protect the trucks that carried U.S. Postal mail from troop to troop.

His busy schedule did not keep him from writing Amy everyday. Amy also was busy writing daily. It took 2-3 weeks for the letters to arrive in each place. They communicated by phone every two weeks. It was on a call in November 2003 that Amy and JB set the date for their wedding – the next month, on December 13.

Amy planned her Christmas wedding in a short month. After JB found out he would get to come home for several weeks, they knew this would be perfect opportunity to get married. Their Saturday wedding was held at First Baptist Church Monticello. Although Amy had only a month to plan it all, the wedding was a success.

Amy had time to buy her favorite wedding dress. Her grandmother managed to make all four bridesmaids’ dresses. Since it was Christmas time, the church was decorated with candles and poinsettias. JB and Amy even had a four-day honeymoon at Big Cedar Lodge.

Although they did not let war stop them from pursuing their dreams, it did force JB to return to Iraq for the rest of his assignment.

JB had essentially flown in to the States, gotten married and then returned to the Middle East. So the beginning of their marriage was anything but normal. They were unsure of when his service would end due to the volatility of the Iraq situation. Amy decided to sit out of school for a semester and moved back home to Warren to live with her parents and work at a bank there.

Amy and JB continued their letter-writing and talked on the phone as often as they could. They are glad that they learned early in their marriage the importance of communication. They also learned to not worry about the small things in life. It was hard for them to get stressed about everyday struggle when people were dying daily in the war.

After only three more months, JB was grateful to learn that his division was being sent home. He had completed his term of service. JB returned to Monticello, college and his new wife. They moved into married student housing at UAM.

JB is a senior majoring in speech communication, and he plans to graduate in May 2007. His goal is to return to the Army and work full time in counter terrorism.

Amy finished her bachelor of science degree in exercise science in May 2006. She currently directs the Healthy STEPs program (for senior adults) at South Arkansas Rehabilitation.

Life is now somewhat normal for this married couple, but their early years together will always be special to JB and Amy. Through love and war, they have learned commitment and are Together for Life.