MU | F e a t u r e s
out, the Bauchers could not have picked
better next door neighbors.
were surprised, but not surprised,” added
Mary. “They love Gene too.”
Palsgroves left gifts to Manchester in their
estate plans.
From 1959 when the Palsgroves moved
into their new home, the two families
bonded. “Lenore and I became best
friends,” said Mary, “and one of my
closest confidants.” Bob and Gene
were close friends, too. The families
worshipped together at Modesto Church
of the Brethren, a five-minute walk from
the walnut grove. Their children – three
Bauchers and four Palsgroves – played
together and went through school
together. The families even traveled
together, one summer taking the Baucher
camper north to Canada, east to Lake
Superior and down through the Midwest
to visit their relatives.
Both Gene and Mary have fond memories
of Manchester. Gene and Lenore shared
their first kiss in the Chime tower one
night watching a full moon rise. Mary
remembers first seeing Bob in a Sunday
school class when “our eyes met across
the room.”
Gene and Mary say they’ve slowed – a
little. Gene stepped down from decades of
teaching Sunday school and directing the
church choir. He still plays bridge twice a
week and golfs regularly. Lifelong knitter
Mary makes scarves for homeless women,
caps for newborns and also shares her
talents with a prayer shawl ministry.
Time passed and the children grew up.
Bob retired. Gene, a school principal,
retired. Bob died in 2008 and Lenore in
2010. “I was determined not to marry
again,” said Mary. “Bob and I had 56
wonderful years together.” After Lenore’s
death, Mary shared Gene’s grief. “We
cried together and we laughed together,”
said Gene.
Though they’ve lived in Modesto for more
than 60 years, they carry Manchester with
them. “Manchester is just a wonderful
part of our lives,” said Gene. That’s
where “the boundaries of my thinking
expanded. My world became much more
exciting and larger.” Gene experienced
what he calls “a reorganization of
my value system. I am so grateful to
Manchester for that.”
Mary recalls the “good lifelong
relationships” Manchester gave her. “I
got to know the professors as friends, not
just as someone giving a lecture.” One
of those professors, T. Wayne Rieman,
“was one of the people who awakened
my spirituality,” said Mary. In gratitude
to their alma mater, the Bauchers and
“Mary and I had wonderful first
marriages,” said Gene. Now their second
marriage provides these Manchester
graduates with a deeply fulfilling and
familiar companionship.
They found happiness again in their own
backyard.
By Melinda Lantz ’81
They also started spending time together.
Mary helped Gene in his garden, and
Gene helped Mary with mechanical
things around the house. They walked to
church together. After a while, Gene said,
“We knew we wanted to live our lives
together.”
Mary and Gene celebrated three years of
marriage earlier this year.
Mary moved in to Gene’s house, but she
keeps the Baucher homestead and has
her study there. The extra space comes in
handy when children and grandchildren
visit. Their children are supportive of
their parents’ second marriage. “They
wanted me to be happy,” Gene said of
his three daughters and son. “My boys
Baucher and Palsgrove children (and
a few neighbors) wait for a Modesto,
Calif., school bus. Mary (left) and
Lenore, and Gene (left) and Bob visit
Lake Superior on a 1965 vacation.
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