On Feb. 9, 2009, Eleanor Kasulka Green and Boyd Dewey exchanged vows at the First United Methodist Church in Vancouver. They had dated as teenagers — he was 18, and she 16 — then had parted with no communication for 60 years.
The Kasulka and Dewey families both arrived in Vancouver during World War II. In 1949, while Boyd was attending Vancouver High School, and Eleanor was enrolled at Odgen Meadows High School, they met through a friend who was dating one of Eleanor’s girlfriends. Eleanor went on a blind date with a friend of Boyd. The friends enjoyed a series of triple dates, movies in Portland, picnics and swimming in local parks, and other activities.
Boyd was enamored with the dark-haired, brown-eyed, attractive 16-year-old. He was quick to seek a date with Eleanor once she was no longer dating his friend.
Boyd and Eleanor dated for six months before he joined the Air Force in September 1948. Assignment to Japan and the Korean War meant an extension of his enlistment and loss of contact with Eleanor.
Boyd spent 20 years in the Air Force, 40 years at Boston University in Massachusetts and enjoyed a loving 56-year marriage, which bore three sons, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, all of whom live in the Boston area.
Eleanor met Stanford Green at Vancouver High School during the 1948-49 school year when she walked by his table and he said, “Nice sweater.” An upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance provided her the opportunity to invite him on a date. In 1950, Stanford enrolled at Whitworth University in Spokane, then the University of Washington. Eleanor remained Stanford’s steady girlfriend while she attended Clark Junior College, later joining him at UW during his junior year. After five years of dating, they married in September 1953.
The couple moved to Texas for Stanford’s Air Force pilot training and later returned to Vancouver, where Stanford continued flying with the Portland Air National Guard and was employed as a financial advisor. Eleanor worked as a second-grade teacher for four years at John Rogers Elementary School, followed by 24 years at Martin Luther King Elementary School. Eleanor and Stanford enjoyed 54 happy years of marriage and were blessed with a family of two daughters, one son and seven grandchildren, all of whom are Vancouver residents.
Mixed up or karma?
Boyd, whose wife had died in 2006, was working as an associate dean and professor at Boston University when he flew to Vancouver in 2008 to visit an aunt. He’d often thought of Eleanor, and the opportunity to talk to her during the visit was a temptation he could not resist. He found Rose Kasulka in the phone book and dialed the number. A female voice answered, and Boyd said that during his high school days, he’d dated a young lady named Eleanor.
“Do you know her, by any chance?”
“Yes I do,” Rose replied, “she is my daughter.”
“But that would mean you would be 100 or more years old,” replied Boyd.
“Well, I am 100 years old, and by the way, I must tell you that my daughter is married.”
“I just want to chat with Eleanor,” Boyd said. “Do you have her phone number?”
“Someone is knocking on my door,” Rose said, and she hung up. It was Eleanor.
When she asked her mother who was on the phone, Rose replied, “Oh, some man who said he dated you in high school.” Eleanor thought her mother was just mixed up.
Boyd called Rose again the next day and got Eleanor’s telephone number. He called her, and during the conversation, it was revealed that her husband had passed away. There was no time left to visit in person, but they agreed to keep in touch.
The two made so many phone calls during the next seven months that Eleanor’s son called his mother a “smitten kitten.”
In June, Boyd returned to Vancouver to meet Eleanor in person for the first time in 60 years. He was stunned when Eleanor opened the door. The brown-eyed, slender, teenage beauty he had remembered had grown into a beautiful, mature woman. In turn, Eleanor was struck by the tall blue-eyed guy who stood before her.
On the first evening of his visit, one of Eleanor’s grandsons violated her request to stay away and came by to “check Boyd out.” Boyd passed this evaluation with flying colors.
The visit was crammed with conversation, trips through Vancouver to reminisce and bring Boyd up to date on 60 years of change, as well as meetings with family and friends. When Boyd again left for Boston, he vowed that he would not let Eleanor escape this time.
Eleanor visited Boyd in August. This and the previous visit cemented the relationship. Upon her return, Eleanor’s friends sensed that she was serious about Boyd. They informed her that he would have to pass a written test. Hence, Boyd received a long, detailed questionnaire that he was told he must complete and return to the “committee” for review. They found his replies insightful — and, more importantly, hilarious — and called to inform him that he had met their standards.
On a subsequent visit, during a “leaf peeking” trip to Vermont, Boyd presented an engagement ring and asked Eleanor to marry him. Eleanor accepted. The day ended with champagne that Boyd had hidden in the car trunk.
Boyd came to Vancouver for Thanksgiving. Eleanor had set up a tight “audition” schedule for him: Eleanor’s three children and their families at noon; her three sisters and their families at 1 p.m.; and a myriad of friends at 2:30 p.m. None had been informed of the engagement. Eleanor’s son and daughter almost choked on their pizza when Boyd told them the news. (Months earlier Boyd had written a letter promising he “would not ride out of Vancouver with their mother on a white horse.” Even though he was reneging on that statement, everyone approved.)
Boyd learned the word “karma,” loosely defined as fate or destiny, while living in Japan. He believes it was karma that resulted in the reunion of these two after 60 years apart. Friends, relatives and even strangers have often said the couple is surrounded by a glow.
We are convinced that our love and commitment will keep glowing; it is our karma.
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