SUN CITY — The power of first love. This is a story of reunited high school sweethearts.
Cliff and Linda Dungey, Sun City residents, were high school sweethearts. Then, they spent a lifetime apart. Now, they’ve found their way back to each other.
Linda said, “We met in high school. I was in the choir, and he was in the orchestra. I was on stage performing in Annie Get Your Gun and I looked down at the boy playing the cello and thought he’s kind of cute.”
Cliff saw Linda on stage, and there was a connection. He said, “I thought wow! She is beautiful.”
Cliff and Linda Dungey in 1969 as high school sweethearts. (Photo provided)
They attended Park Ridge Maine Township High School East. “Harrison Ford and Hillary Clinton attended that high school. I was a senior at the time and Cliff was one year younger. We didn’t date. We just hung around with the cast of the play and the orchestra,” Linda said.
“We did have a matchmaker, a classmate, Joanne. She got us finally to go out on a date. And that summer we started to hang out and go places,” Cliff said.
After graduation, Linda attended Evanston Hospital School of Nursing. Cliff continued to see her, even riding his bike from Des Plaines to Evanston to spend time with her. “We had a spot we like to go to, Grosse Point Lighthouse in Evanston Illinois. It is a wonderfully scenic spot where you can relax, and enjoy the beach and the view. Linda joined our family trips to Minnesota for Thanksgiving. My dad loved her. She came with us on a trip to St. Louis,” he said.
The summer after Cliff graduated from High School in 1968, his father got a new job in Kansas and the family moved.
The two didn’t let this distance stop them, at first.
Linda said, “I took a few trips there. I went down there at Christmas and we kept in contact, traveling back and forth.”
Cliff went to ask Linda’s father permission to marry his daughter. And in 1969 during the Easter holiday, Cliff drove to see Linda, and at their spot, Grosse Point Lighthouse, he proposed and Linda said yes.
“My family flew up to Illinois to celebrate the engagement,” Cliff said.
Linda said, “It began more difficult to stay in touch. There were no cell phones. We both were in college. Cliff decided to go to Kansas State, and I was finishing the RN program. We both were studying and then I began working and it became harder to maintain contact and a relationship. We broke it off.”
Cliff was in the ROTC program attending school and met someone who he decided to spend his life with. He married in 1971. Linda also met someone else and married also in 1971.
Linda married a doctor who found a position in Michigan where they moved.
“We had two boys and a girl. We were married for 26 years. He passed away in 1998.”
Cliff said, “I was married 32 years and had two girls. We divorced.”
Cliff’s class had a 35th reunion in 2003, which he decided to attend. He was still in Kansas. He wondered what ever happened to Linda. They had had no contact in 35 years. He decided to call their matchmaker, Joanne. Joanne played her part and called Linda and encouraged her to come down from Michigan for the reunion not informing her of Cliff’s attendance. The school was also celebrating the 100th anniversary of the building. Joanne encouraged Linda to attend the tours. On the tour of the school, they were reunited.
Linda said, “It was like we just saw each other yesterday. We were immediately comfortable with each other.”
Cliff said, “It didn’t take long for me to tell her I want to spend the rest of my life with you. At the end of the trip, I kissed her and was thrilled to hear her say ‘When will I see you again.’”
A lot of phone conversations and some trips and things snowballed from there. Cliff planned to propose to Linda on a trip and had the jeweler send the ring they chose to Linda’s mother’s house.
“She accidentally opened it and was so excited. She took the ring and put it in a silk purse and was thrilled to be the first to know and she did not spill the beans.” Linda said.
Cliff said, “The day I planned to propose was filled with mishaps but we finally made it to our beach where I proposed.”
On May 28, 2005, one year to the day of the second proposal, Cliff and Linda got married.
“Cliff’s best man was his brother and my daughter was my maid of honor. My two sons walked me down the aisle,” Linda said.
Cliff and Linda prove that a real connection truly stands the test of time. If you know you have that, it is always worth putting in the effort to reconnect with that special person, be it a friend or a lover.
