 Diane C. Terry and Steve D. Terry met 30 years ago, were engaged in 2006, and married in front of Walker Hall on Appalachian State University’s campus Sept. 26, 2009. Photo provided by Diane C. Terry |
by MEGAN NORTHCOTE
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
When Appalachian State University alumnus Steve D. Terry met Diane C. Terry over 30 years ago, it was love at first sight.
It was the winter of 1976 and Steve had just transferred from UNC-Charlotte.
One night, Steve’s roommate invited Diane to their dorm for help with statistics.
“When my eyes locked onto her that very first night, it was like [I felt] heart flutters, heartbeats and heart palpitations,” Steve said.
Having just met, Steve walked Diane to Kidd Brewer Stadium’s parking lot, where they exchanged phone numbers.
At that moment, Steve remembers Diane turning for a kiss.
Her nerves got in the way, but it was not long before the pair started dating.
Steve
and Diane dated for two years before Steve graduated, moved back home
and made what he considers the biggest mistake of his life – breaking
up with her.
For the next 30 years, Steve and Diane married other people and began raising their families.
 A heart marks space 387 at Kidd Brewer Stadium’s parking lot where Appalachian State University alumni Diane C. Terry and Steve D. Terry were engaged in 2006. Photo by Holt Menzies
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They both had daughters; Steve now has three and Diane has two. This year, Diane’s first granddaughter was born.
In 2005, their paths crossed again.
Immediately
after the championship football game against Chattanooga, Steve, who
was going through a separation, got the urge to pick up the phone and
give Diane a call, telling her Appalachian had won.
After a 30-year break, the two reunited.
Later that year, Steve proposed to Diane in the exact parking space, number 387, where they first met 30 years earlier.
A red
heart stenciled into the parking space commemorates their engagement,
and three years later, Steve and Diane were pronounced Mr. and Mrs.
Steve Terry on Sept. 26.
“I told [Diane] 33 years ago, ‘I was too afraid to kiss you, but now I’m brave enough to ask you to be my wife,’” Steve said.
No matter where life took them, Steve and Diane have always had one true love: Appalachian.
Both
alumni of the class of 1978, the couple decided to hold their wedding
two weekends ago in front of Walker Hall, formerly the college of
business, where Steve spent most of his time as an undergraduate
business major.
Outside Walker Hall is also where the Appalachian Marching Mountaineers warms up, Diane’s favorite part of football games.
“We didn’t want to do a traditional wedding,” Diane said, who desperately wanted the band to perform at the wedding.
Unfortunately, it rained and the band was unable to perform, but many guests were still able to attend.
“There
were probably 80 people in ponchos, umbrellas and raincoats watching us
get married,” Steve said. “You truly know who your friends are when
they stand in the rain and watch….”
Among
those in attendance were Steve’s friends from Pi Kappa Phi fraternity,
of which he was a member and currently serves as chapter adviser.
During
the wedding, the fraternity members present got on their knees and sang
“The Rose of Pi Kappa Phi” to Diane, a song reserved only for women
with a unique connection to the fraternity.
“If it
had been a perfect day, there would have been hundreds of people at my
wedding, but as it turns out, the best people were at my wedding,”
Steve said.
When the
couple was announced husband and wife, the opening fanfare for AC/DC’s
“Back in Black” began to play, followed by the Appalachian’s Fight Song
and Alma Mater.
Steve and Diane always had a love for Appalachian football and have only missed three games since 2007.
For Steve’s 50th birthday, the couple visited the Gettysburg Battlefield.
For Diane’s 50th birthday, they went to historic Charleston.
They
re-visited Charleston for their honeymoon, and, coincidentally, were
able to see a football game – Appalachian versus The Citadel.
The
newlyweds, now living in Diane’s house in Boone, jointly operate a
commercial upholstery company, selling upholstery online and all over
the world.
“I will trade living in Charlotte for living in [Watauga County] with my wife anytime,” Steve said.
Photo by Holt Menzies | Chief Photographer; Photo special to The Appalachian
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