Patti Thorp: Well, after dating someone for so long, we kind of just knew we were going to get married.
He had followed me to Yale when I went to drama school, and he got his post-doctorate. Actually, in 1989, on our first Valentine’s Day together, he gave me a set of four glass plates and bowls, and that’s when he asked me if I would marry him then.
The intention behind the plates and bowls was that we would get married, and they would be for our life together.
DTH: What is your favorite thing about the other person?
PT: His sense of humor is my favorite. Also, he’s very honest, forthright, and usually delivers bad news gently. No matter how bad things are, he’s there.
HT: She’s always going to keep me on the ground. She reminds me of how I was when I was 12.
DTH: What is one of your most memorable moments?
HT: The night the Board of Governors elected me to be Chancellor, we renewed our wedding vows. It’s more special after so much time. You know how much work it has been and how much it really is.
DTH: What is the key to love?
PT: Commitment and marriage takes a lot of trust.
What was great about him knowing me so long when we started dating was that I eventually tried to push him out of my life, like I always did with my love interests, but he had seen that before, and wouldn’t let me. It’s knowing someone’s patterns.
HT: You need to recognize that the other person is going to do stuff that drives you crazy, but if you have the ability and want to work through it, that’s the secret.
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PT: Like I told him about that tweet (from the Duke game), it’s a good thing that he’s cute!
Ida and Bill Friday
Before he was president of the UNC system, Bill Friday was president of the N.C. State University student body — and he didn’t have date.
A friend set him up on a blind date with a Meredith College student named Ida. Years later, they would marry and have three children.
In 68 years of marriage, Bill and Ida, both in their early nineties, have enjoyed the company of chancellors and presidents. But the company they value most is each other’s.
DTH: How did you two meet?
Bill Friday: You won’t believe it, but it was a blind date. It was Greater University Day, an occasion when State and Carolina played football way back in the 40s. I happened to be class president of State, and all the guys had girlfriends come and be their sponsors. I didn’t have one so I called out to Meredith College … I found her so interesting that I called back and we’ve lived happily ever after.
That was 68 years ago, and we’ve been happily married ever since.
DTH: How did you propose?
BF: (I proposed) just like anybody else, but it was before I was leaving to go to war.
Many proposals were made in those days. She was sweet enough to accept and we’ve had three daughters in our family since that time.
DTH: What is your favorite thing about the other person?
BF: We’re a great team. We work together on everything we did. We built two houses together, and we’ve had a great time every day. Every day seems to be a new adventure.
DTH: What is one of your most memorable moments?
BF: There was the time when our first child came to our home. That’s a memory no one forgets. The happiness of being together, you never forget that. We always worked as a team. I didn’t want to do anything she didn’t share.
DTH: What is the key to love?
BF: Well, the first thing, of course, is complete trust and complete acceptance. That’s where you start. You’re two people building one life and you do it together. And you do it recognizing that neither of you is perfect, but you can do it together. And we did.
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