A Celebration of Love: BC Married Couples Set Example for Students

Have you ever noticed that Bluefield College hires a lot of married couples? As Valentine’s Day approaches, BC’s married employees share fond memories and talk about what it is like to work for the same institution as your spouse.

Justin and Katie Morton recently joined the Bluefield College family. Justin is in his third year as head men’s soccer coach, while Katie has served as women’s residence director and assistant coach for women’s soccer for two years. Together, they live on campus in The Bluestone Commons with their two-year-old daughter, Elia.

“Having Elia a part of the college life has been the biggest blessing,” said Katie. “I love the saying ‘it takes a village to raise your children’. Bluefield has truly welcomed our family with open arms.”

Soccer is what brought the Mortons together. They agree that their love of playing the game has helped them stay connected, despite their competitiveness. Justin jokes that the challenge of working for the same institution is that they see each other “too much,” but that becomes a benefit when they are having a busy day at work and still have time together.

“Marriage is a journey of constantly learning and sacrificing for the other person,” said Katie. “Our story is messy, and we don’t always have it together. And that’s the point. I think we live in a world where we look at social media and want that person’s life or want your future marriage to look like theirs.”

Valentine’s Day is special for the Mortons because they got together on that day. Justin planned a what he thought would be a “perfect” date for the two, but it turned out to be a little less than perfect when they were late for their dinner reservation. Following dinner, they were to go on a hike; however, Katie forgot to bring a change of clothes. It was dark by then, so Justin decided they’d go stargazing at the park, but that was cut short when police officers kicked them out because the park was closed. It seems the only thing that went right that night was that Justin asked Katie to be his girlfriend, and she agreed.

While they know they are not perfect, Katie and Justin also know they can overcome any failures by choosing God. Their advice for couples: “Pray for your spouse, pursue always, never stop dating, and know that everyone has mess behind the Instagram world.”

Charles Reese and his wife of 30 years, Rebecca McCoy-Reese, both serve as professors of theatre at Bluefield College. They produce, design, and direct all of the college drama productions together, as well as both teaching theatre courses.

“He hired me for a summer stock company,” Rebecca said about how she and Charles met.

“And I made up a position for her because I thought she was cute,” Charles added, “and I had already hired everybody,” which Rebecca didn’t know until years later. The couple has almost always worked together, including as a traveling drama ministry team, which is what actually led to the opportunity to join the faculty at Bluefield College following their performance during BC’s Duremdes Christian Emphasis Week in 2000.

“When we are together, we are more than just two separate people,” Rebecca said. They are often asked to teach workshops on “synergy” because co-workers notice that their marriage is a perfect example of it. Students believe that they are “couple goals.”

As for Valentine’s Day, the Reeses are usually busy working on the current production. However, Charles remembers one year on Valentine’s Day Rebecca surprised him by carrying in a huge stuffed bear, which sat in their office for a while. They said it’s not about one day; it’s about doing small things randomly to show each other that they care.

Dr. Rob Merritt currently serves as chair of the BC English Department. His wife, Mimi, previously served in multiple positions at Bluefield College, including associate professor of communication, faculty advisor for The Rampage, interim vice president for academic affairs, and dean of institutional effectiveness. They worked together for more than 20 years.

“One time I was her boss, and one time she was my boss,” Dr. Merritt said.

They agree that a major benefit of working for the same institution is the shared vacations, because they love to travel. Mimi said that one of her fun experiences while working alongside her husband was the convenience of having his office near hers.

“My office was on the other side of the wall from his,” she said, “and I was always locking myself out. So, I’d get Rob to help me break back into my office.”

Dr. Merritt said he always makes his wife a Valentine’s Day dinner. Mimi says, “he’s a really good chef.” They’ve often included friends in the dinner with Dr. Merritt leading the men in cooking dinner for their wives.

“All the girls dressed up to the nines, and the men wore tuxedos,” Mimi said. And Dr. Merritt added, “These were doctors and lawyers. They wanted to pay back their wives for all the meals they had cooked all year.”

Dr. Marshall Flowers currently serves as vice president for academic affairs and athletics at Bluefield College. His wife of 47 years, Linda, serves as an adjunct instructor. However, the majority of her services for the college are volunteer work. She is best known for leading BC’s flute choir, which is a small chamber ensemble that meets and performs in the spring semester. It was Linda’s gift for the flute that introduced her to Marshall.

“The summer before our senior year of high school, I was playing the flute with my best friend at the church music festival,” Linda recalls. “It was the national competition. Marshall and his friend were spectators.”

After the competition, which was hosted at Marshall’s home church, the two guys showed the young ladies around their hometown. A couple years later, Linda moved to the same town as Marshall for college. The two reconnected almost as soon as she arrived when he invited her to come to church with him.

“I knew how special that relationship was going to be,” he said. “So, I took time to be her friend and get to know her better.”

Marshall and Linda have always known that they were called to serve in a Christ-centered environment. They made the choice to dedicate themselves and their marriage to ministry. This began in the church and led to opportunities in Christian higher education. Marshall has fond memories of raising their two children around a college campus where they served in Seattle. The kids, he said, “grew up on the campus. They went to chapel and all the events. Their babysitters were college students.”

While Linda admits that she had opportunities to excel with teaching on her own, she explains that she made the decision to work part-time as a complement to her husband’s leadership to avoid jeopardizing their home.

“You have this pie which is your relationship,” Linda said. “As you divide it up to do different things, it becomes really mushy.”

It is a shared value to gift their time and each other’s time to the college for the glory of God, they said. Valentine’s Day for them has recently included traveling together to a national conference in a tropical location for professional development. In the earlier years of their marriage, they were invited to Valentine’s Day events and church dinners to perform a musical duet.