Valentine's Day will be one to remember for Santa Fe couple
Feb. 13—Neither John Slattery nor his fiancée, Karen Lee Kimbrough, had given much thought to Valentine's Day in years past.
For Kimbrough, it brought back memories of exchanging cards with classmates way back in elementary school. For Slattery, it was overshadowed by his birthday.
The day takes on new significance for the couple as they tie the knot Wednesday.
Slattery said it will be easy for him remember their wedding anniversary, which will fall on his birthday. He turns 81 this year, catching up to his new wife in age.
"You'll be as old as I am," said Kimbrough, whose 81st birthday was in September. She can't be accused of robbing the cradle, the couple joked in an interview this week at the home they now share.
They were planning to marry late Wednesday morning at Café Grazie, where they had their first date a couple of years ago. About 20 friends were expected to attend the wedding — his fourth, her second.
Three times might be the charm, but Slattery noted that's the average number of nuptials for both of them.
Surrounded by a trio of dogs — he has two, Creed and Milo, and she has Jazz, who came into her life on Valentine's Day about 10 years ago — the couple jousted back and forth like vaudeville partners who had their routine down pat.
"I don't like normal things," she said, eyeing him.
"Obviously," he said, eyeing her back.
"I won't be changing my name," she said.
"I like her name better than I like mine," he said. "I may change my name."
The two have known each other for about five years. He was married to his third wife, Mary Ann Slattery, when they met. Mary Ann died in late 2021.
After her death, John Slattery said, he felt empty and was drawn to Kimbrough's sense of humor and independence. He asked her out several times, and she said repeatedly said no, but he was persistent.
"It took a long time to win her over," he said.
When she finally said yes, he offered to drive her to Oklahoma to visit her two brothers, both of whom had served in the U.S. Marines in the Vietnam War era. Slattery also served in that war as a forward artillery observer — until he was wounded by friendly fire.
He said with a laugh he had called in his injury himself.
Road trips, Slattery said, can serve as a reliable barometer of whether a relationship will work out. He and Kimbrough bonded on that journey in December 2022.
The pair have much in common. Both lived overseas for years — Slattery as a teacher of English as a second language and Kimbrough as a marketing agent for Estée Lauder and other positions.
Neither has children.
Both cared for aging parents suffering from Alzheimer's disease — his father, her mother.
Their political views are aligned, and they both enjoy watching television and just hanging out together.
In other ways, they are not at all alike. She likes to talk and will stop strangers in the grocery store to compliment them on their clothes, jewelry, appearance. He prefers to text rather than talk and hates the long silences during phone conversations when people have run out of things to say.
He gets up early and finds time for push-ups — 2,000 a day, he said — one reason his octogenarian body seems so fit.
She rises late, around 10 a.m.
She drinks alcohol; he does not. He's been sober for 20 years, he said.
He likes a clean house. She said, "I'm known as not a good housekeeper."
Still, they've developed a bond they both hope will last.
Chris Leslie, Slattery's next-door neighbor, who will serve as the best man at their wedding, recalled the first time he saw the couple together one night last year.
Slattery had called Leslie to say he and Kimbrough were coming back from a date when a snowstorm hit, causing Slattery to drive his vehicle into a curb and blow out two tires. Slattery asked Leslie to pick them up and help them call for a tow truck, which Leslie did.
Guess what night that was?
"Valentine's Day," Leslie said. "Isn't that sweet?"
