Joseph Anthony Segreti & Cheryl Ann Briggs:: Married

They met in college in late 1976. While picking their classes for the next year she spied him. He had a brown hat and a mustache . Some people said he looked like Robert Redford when he was younger. She thought he was quite handsome. As an excuse to talk to him she complimented him on his hat. She was a slim, tan, freckled beauty. Her blue-green eyes jumped out at you. I am pretty sure that is what Papa first noticed. They are stunning.

They were in the same psychology night class. After three months they started dating in early '77. That summer was tough for both. They didn't have easy jobs. She worked on a strawberry farm and was in the fields all day and he sanded fiberglass deer antlers for 8 hours each day. They went back to school that fall but dropped out in October after my dad's 20th birthday. A June 10th, 1978 wedding was planned.

The morning of the wedding came. I am sure they both were nervous. She wore a simple white dress with sheer sleeves down to her wrists. On her head she wore a tiara of lilies of the valley attached to a long veil. Her bouquet was white roses with lilies of the valley intertwined. He wore a brown suit with a ruffled undershirt. Classic 70's style. His corsage was a white rose. The bridesmaids were in peach dresses and the groomsmen in brown suits. The wedding was at 11am and it was held in the church my mother grew up in. Her father, John, gave her away and also officiated the wedding. They had a simple outdoor reception following the ceremony. The weather was beautiful for June.

The following day they headed out in a borrowed car to Chincoteague, Virginia for their honeymoon. Spent a week there in the Sea Star Inn. I hear that my mother got a nasty sunburn one of the first days. Red as a lobster, my dad said. Ouch.

As far as children go she didn't want any and he wanted two. So they settled on 12. From 1980 to 2004 she bore eleven boys and a girl. Since then they have become the grandparents of two little boys. Currently 51 and 52 my parents are still going strong. My mom has twelve years of homeschooling left and my dad has been a petroleum transport engineer for over 20 years. They have been the most wonderful parents I could ever ask for.

Happy 32nd anniversary Papa & Mama.....love you very much.


P.S. I wasn't able to locate a picture from their wedding. This one is from last year. Photo by AbbyNoellePhotography.