Richard Farmer, EHD70, and Dottie Hopkins Farmer, EHD70, had a brief encounter as high schoolers and became their “inseparable” during their University of Delaware days. On campus, they dreamt of their life together and made it a reality.

Where/how did you meet at UD?

We met at the Delaware Blue/Gold football game in August 1966.  We each represented our high schools as members of the All Star Marching Band at this game, Dottie from Lewes High School and I was from William Penn High School. We had a chance encounter after the final rehearsal, rode the bus to and from the game on that Saturday, and vowed we would meet at the UD.  We met again on campus during Freshman orientation and began dating from there. When we first met, we each knew that "we were the ones."

I proposed to her in March 1969, and we married two days before graduation on June 5, 1970.  We had to come back for graduation as I was the first of my family to graduate college and was Class President. I was designated to introduce the commencement guest speaker. It seemed we were destined to be together and are now approaching our 52nd anniversary. 

When you were at the University, what was your favorite date night? Favorite spot on campus?

While at UD, we became inseparable with many of our "dates" spent at the Student Center watching movies there and spending time in the "Scrounge." We spent many a Sunday afternoon walking through the neighborhoods in west Newark and dreaming and plotting our future lives together. We always made time for each other and spent many, many hours in the UD library studying together.  While we both knew we wanted to be teachers, during our long Sunday walks, we tried to imagine what our teaching careers would look like, and then made our dreams come to fruition. 

Where did life lead you after graduation?

At first, I continued at the UD as a dorm director while pursuing graduate studies. Dottie was immediately hired by the Colonial School District as a Home Economics teacher for the George Read Middle School in New Castle and began her 30-year teaching career in September 1970. In December of 1971, I learned of a Social Studies position at George Read, quickly applied, and was hired to begin my teaching career in January of 1972.

She was named Teacher of the Year by Colonial School District in 1980 and coached various sports including volleyball and girls basketball. Together we attended  every activity at the George Read Middle School over the years. Dottie retired from teaching career in June 2000. 

I taught at George Read, and also became a student adviser as a steppingstone into administration. I was promoted to assistant principal at William Penn, became the principal of Gunning Bedford Middle School for two years, returned to the classroom as a Civics/U.S. History teacher at William Penn, and finished my last three years as the school's deputy principal. Along the way, I was named Colonial's Teacher of the Year and also received the Music Educator's Administrator of the Year in 1999 for my support of the music programs in Colonial School District. Upon my retirement, I was appointed to the Delaware State Board of Education for which I served as vice president. My father had served on the board for 24 years, so I followed in his footsteps. 

In 2009, we moved to Reynolds on Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA to pursue our dream of playing golf every day if we so chose.

You both have received many accolades for your careers in education. How did your time at UD prepare you for success in your roles?

Balancing our burgeoning relationship, our full class loads, our dorm responsibilities and my track career certainly prepared us for our successful teaching careers. Once we became teachers, we knew the work needed to reach our students would take a huge commitment of our time and efforts to help as many young people as we could. Not only did we provide the academics, but we demonstrated a solid, loving relationship for each of them. We are often called "mom and dad" by many of our former students. Perhaps that is our greatest achievement, and we are grateful to the UD for setting the groundwork for our success.

When did your love of golf begin and where has it taken you?

After graduation, I was a weekend golfer in between my beginning career as a football and track coach. Dottie showed interest in the sport, so we slowly built upon her interest and natural ability. Quickly, we both developed a passion for golf and found time as often as possible to play the game. Of course, I created a monster as the holes in one started coming along. While in Delaware we competed in many state couples events and also in the Philadelphia golf events. We were very competitive and won a few tournaments along the way. We now are on the golf course nearly every day, and between us, we average more than 600 rounds of golf per year. We both have been active in our community with serving on the golf and greens committees and doing some charity work for Habitat for Humanity. 

What else are you up to now?

Dottie actively pursues her Mary Kay Cosmetic business and serves a large clientele both at Reynolds and in Delaware. I sing in a local community chorus and fill in as an interim director when needed. We have traveled extensively in the U.S. over the last few years taking long road trips. Of course, every trip involves golf. We don't get to Delaware very often as the 12-hour journey is arduous. We usually spend one week per year there in August attending the Dottie’s Hopkins family reunion for which as many as 100 extended family members attend. 

What is your favorite memory of UD that comes to mind often in your life now?

We look back at our days at the UD with great fondness but also as a reminder of those long nights of study which often consumed us. The entire experience at the UD was a life building one, full of opportunities and lifelong lessons that molded us into the people we are today.  We are so grateful to our many professors who provided a solid foundation to assist us with our careers.  We are proud Blue Hens!