One of the most beloved romantic movies of all time is Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook. The relationship between Noah and Allie’s characters is one that most couples fantasize about but never imagine to ever play out. Well, at Kinder Care Assisted Living we have the real live story of “Noah and Allie”.
Donald and Glenna Scoby, originally from Kansas, have been together for 76 years and their story is nothing short of remarkable and heartwarming.
When asked why Donald and his wife Glenna chose to live at Kinder Care the answer was easy – “So that we could stay together”, said Donald, “every other assisted living facility in the area wanted to split us up, and we’ve been together basically our entire lives so that just wasn’t an option for us.” In fact, in the last 76 years the only time the couple has ever been apart was when during the four years Donald enlisted the military.
The journey for the two love birds began in junior high and the rest is history. The couple has been inseparable ever since. Perhaps it was finding true love within those brick walls of that tiny school in Kansas that helped pave a career in teaching for both Donald and Glenna. “Teaching is, or I guess was, in our blood,” Donald tell us. Glenna was always so patient and a true nurturer at heart. For years she taught kindergarten and special ed while Donald spent those years educating undergrads in biology at NDSU, MSUM and Concordia.
If they weren’t teaching others, you could probably find them in one of the fifty states completing 10K races. “It was a great way for us to see the world,” Donald tells us, “all while spending time with one another and falling more in love every single state we ran.” Do you think Nicholas Sparks is keeping up? It gets better!
When we asked the Scoby’s about their greatest accomplishment in life, Donald’s face lit up as he responded, “Our wonderful family!” Excited to tell us all about their only daughter, handsome grandson and three amazing great-granddaughters, the stories were sweet as pie and photographs only helped in solidifying that. Blessed is truly an understatement for this power couple.
When talking with family and friends about Donald and Glenna’s story, Donald’s love letters were mentioned every single time. It turns out the two had their very own language, or code so to speak, when it came to speaking to one another through letters. Every note that Donald wrote Glenna, would be signed with hand drawn pictures by himself, as way for only the two of them to know exactly what was being said. Above you can see an example of image that Donald drew for Glenna — an “Island of a woman”, that he told us means “I love you”. This has become his signature on all of their love notes over the years.
Donald and Glenna are the perfect example of how a true love story never ends.
