Manchester Magazine Spring 2014 | Page 33

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. Manchester | 33