Our Couple of the Year for 2007

Don & Judy Severs

Don and I met while in Junior High. Don was in the 8th grade, I was in 7th. We went “steady” for a while but then “stuff” happened and we went our separate ways. In high school, my family moved a few miles away which put us in different high schools. We talked and dated some but nothing serious. Don enlisted in the Army in January 1968, going thru basic training at Fort Benning and then going on to aviation training at Fort Rucker in Alabama. In July 1968, Don was sent to Vietnam and we started writing. While on a 30 day leave between tours in Vietnam, we started dating. Before he went back, we were engaged. Since we both have a holiday birthday, I wanted to get married on Valentines Day but the Army would not give us an exact return date so we settled for February 21, 1970. We spent the next 9 years in the Army moving from military bases in Arlington Heights IL, to Key West, FL, Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX to three years in Schwabach West Germany (near Nuremburg). Don decided he had had enough of military life and he was honorably discharged in October 1978. We settled in St. Petersburg, Florida where we spent the next 19 years. In July 1997, Don accepted a job with the FAA in College Park and we moved to the Atlanta area.

 While Don was on that 30 day leave, he bought a 350 Honda and then had to convince my Dad that he would be a safe rider and that I would be safe as well. We spent the rest of that 30 day leave on that 350. After we got married, we would ride the 350 on the training roads of Fort Benning and back country roads of south Georgia. We had been married all of 6 weeks, when Don reenlisted and we moved to Arlington Heights IL. Well, as y’all can guess, the cost of living in South Georgia is a whole lot less than a suburb of Chicago, especially on the salary of an E5 (Sgt.). When we finally found a place to live, we could not afford furniture. Don was so tired of listening to me cry that he sold the 350 to buy furniture – living room and kitchen table and chairs. We still have the kitchen table and chairs - 36 ½ years later!!

Over the years we bought another motorcycle but by then we had three kids. The girls kept us busy in their extracurricular activities (softball/baseball and football/cheerleading) so there was not much time for riding. We spent 12 years in volunteer positions of youth sports organizations from coaching to being the equipment manager for the entire softball/baseball league (our girls teams always had the best uniforms and equipment) to being the president of the football/cheerleading organization (our cheerleaders got brand new uniforms that year)!!! 

When we moved to McDonough, I went to real estate school but spent so much time away from home that neither one of us was happy. Don kept talking about getting a GoldWing but I was never home so what would have been the point. After 9/11 I decided that it was time to get out of the selling end of real estate and went to work for the attorney that I work for now. All this time, Don had been looking at GoldWing’s on eBay. We found one that had a sidecar but we did not know anything about sidecars. We stopped at the Honda dealer in Conyers to ask questions and they sent us to Gary’s Hobbie Shop. Boy were we impressed!!! That is when we started looking in earnest for a good used bike. We found our 1988 1500 on eBay in Argos IN (just south of South Bend). We bought our trailer and Don headed for Indiana to pick up the bike. He trailered the bike back home. We have been riding ever since. 

Don and I have been members of GWRRA since 2002. We are certified at level III tour rider and co-rider. We have also been ride coordinator and scrapbook/historian for several years. 

And THAT, is the rest of the story.


Former COYs