Patty and I were married on August 24th, 1969. I was 20 years old and Patty was 21. It seems like just yesterday, but it also seems like a loooong time ago, so much has happened! The Bible says “the two shall be one.” I can’t imagine being any more one than we are. We are total opposites in every way but it is like we have the same brain. God has blessed our marriage, our family, our ministry. Life has been full of challenges, disappointments, and trials, but they seem so trivial amid all the blessings. The key thing in our marriage is that every decision, big and very small, has been in pursuit of God’s will and serving Him. We are a team not seeking the good life but seeking to please our creator, our Savior, and our Lord, and it has turned into the good life. Over the years the more we have made everything about serving Him the closer we have become. At this point our relationship seems so natural, intuitive, like flying.
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Pastor Dee's Blog 
Happy, happy anniversary Patty and Dee Duke. You two literally look the same as your wedding picture. Sure we’ve all aged, but I can see your faces as never changing. I thank you both for all you did for me and my family while attending your most loved church. With much live, Vicki Caldwell
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Hey Pastor Dee.
I’ve been following your blog since your cross country bicycle trip. It was truly inspiring for my wife and for me. I really signed up to follow it for her, but then became so fascinated I couldn’t wait until the next night for the latest news. BTW, We’re the people you’d never remember…Yup, we quietly come in, I take Janet, my wife, to her spot on the BACK ROW, go back out and grab a Bible and some coffee, worship with all of you and enjoy the time together immensely, but only on Saturday nights. And yes we were here the night you “scolded” us for sitting in the back and we “refused” to move up closer. That’s us alright. And then we quietly sneak out before the service is over so I can get Janet to the car before the “crowd” hits! Certainly not the way we used to do church and not the way we’d like to do it, but stuff happens and life changes.
So…I introduced ourselves to you about a year ago. My wife Janet, has Parkinson’s Disease. It has been something we have fought back for the last five years and God has blessed us with a relatively easy battle; until July 11th. At which time the PD journey took a violent turn for the worse. We’ve been coming to Jefferson for many reasons, but at the top of the list is the ease of entry on Saturday nights. We love most everything about JBC, but the Saturday nights were a critical issue. Janet is barely able to dress herself and a Sunday service would be almost prohibitive, so we looked for a Saturday Night somewhere in the area and VOILA! JBC! So Saturdays just work for us. AND If it’s OK we’ll just keep coming and sitting on the back row and skirting out early. And we did clear it with Jean (church secretary maybe) who said you guys just keep coming and sitting on the back row!
A little information you may find interesting about the two of us after reading your latest blog about 53 years together… We got married 51 years ago on 7/17/71. I was 20; Janet was 21. We have faithfully served for most of those 50 years, in the areas in which God gifted us. The last few years have been nothing like we’d planned for, but we remain thankful, prayerful and joyful. As we battle the ravages PD has brought our way, our hope is to continue to fight the fight, finish the race, keep the faith and glorify God by remain strong to the end.
Congratulations to you and your bride for the 53 years of faithfulness to God and to each other. We too look at the last 50 years and wonder where they went. See you on Saturday nights when we can make it. Look for us on the back row! HAHA.
To the rest of the journey, kb
Ken Bentz kbnorthshaw@gmail.com
503-510-1233 #1 Janet
503-931-5632 #2 Ken (call Janet first)
I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be. I am not even what I hope to be. But by the cross of Christ, I am not what I was. John 3:16-21
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