Mary had been divorced for four years and was working several jobs to keep a roof over her head and the bills paid. Her fulltime job was working in a local bank. Her three children were grown so she lived in a small apartment alone. She had been elected to the city council four months earlier.

Sam was the city’s chief of police and a retired naval officer. His wife had died a couple of months prior with cancer. He was left alone to raise eleven-year-old twins, Ann and Alan, the youngest of his seven children.

Sam and Mary had noticed one another across the room during council meetings, but had never met or been introduced. Sam stopped in the middle of the road one day when he saw Mary and asked her to dinner. The couple had no idea that the dinner was gong to turn into one of many.

Can a city council person date or marry a chief of police? In this city they could date, but not marry. In 1953 there was a small blurb in the city charter that stated no council member could be related to or married to a head of a department.

Mary fell in love with Sam on the first date. After dating for ten weeks the two were married in 1997. They became a combined family of ten children and 24 grandchildren. Who will give up their position? Mary gave up her seat on the council. Sam was more important.

Eleven years later their love had only grown stronger. Sam had retired from the police department and Mary stayed home fulltime with Sam. Both were very well known and loved throughout the community.

In 2008 Sam was diagnosed with cancer. Their journey through the year was filled with pain, stress, love, determination to survive, and the will to go on. Mary learned just how strong a woman she really was. In 2009 Mary took a trip to Greece and reflected on the past twelve years. The trip was not without adventure. The one thing she learned from the trip; that with the love from Sam she could do anything and survive.