-
Dean and Faire Teasley have been married for the past 60 years after falling in love at first sight.
C.S. Lewis said that “to love is to be vulnerable” and for 60 years Dean, 83, and Faire Teasley, 78, have lived together in Lewis’ axiom steadfastly in marriage.
Dean and Faire met each other through Dean’s first cousin and best friend, who Faire was dating at the time. But when they first caught sight of each other, it was true love at first sight.
“I knew when I saw her that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and I knew that I loved her,” Dean said.
However, before Dean’s love for Faire could prevail, he had to patiently wait until the flame between his cousin and Faire burned out; and according to Faire, he didn’t have to wait too long.
“We weren’t serious or anything like that,” Faire said. “It wasn’t working out between us anyway, not to mention that I couldn’t stop talking about [Dean] around everyone.”
After a few weeks of impatience and a strong desire to finally speak with Dean, near Valentine’s Day in 1960, Faire called it off with her boyfriend and immediately set about finding Dean’s contact information in the phone book. After finding Dean’s father’s name and recognizing the address associated with his name, Faire picked up the phone and dialed the number in hopes of talking with Dean about a potential date.
“I started the women’s liberation movement,” Faire said. “We women were liberated at that time, and I guess I felt like I could do just about whatever I felt like doing, so instead of waiting on him to make the first move, I did.
“ I called him first by looking up his daddy’s phone number in the phone book, and when I called, his momma picked up the phone. I told her that I wanted to speak with Dean, and she went to the door and hollered after Dean that ‘some girl is wanting to talk to you.’”
Dean, who was perplexed by his mother’s statement, answered the phone to find the girl of his dreams on the other end, waiting to ask him out to a Valentine’s Day dance. When she put forward the proposition, Dean promptly answered in reply, “I’ll call you back,” and then hung up.
After a few minutes, Farie thought that she would never hear back from him, but what she didn’t know was that Dean was speaking to his cousin about her question, seeking his grace to pursue her without any hard feelings between them.
“Hell yes, it’s OK with me,” Dean recalled his cousin saying. “He told me that she talked about me more than she did him anyway. So I picked up the phone and called her back and told her that I would go to the dance with her. However, I was a little embarrassed, because at the time, she was 15 and I was 20, and I didn’t know how to dance either. I wasn’t much for dancing or swaying when I was in high school. I liked to play sports, so when I went with her, I was out of my element.”
Nonetheless, when the first slow dance tune started, Dean reached out his hand for Farie and brought her in close to him, instantly mesmerizing her and confirming her feelings for him.
“I absolutely melted,” Farie said. “He robbed the cradle, but then again, I went to him first.”
Their relationship took off from that day, and one year later Dean got her father’s blessing and proposed to her.
“We were at the Joy Drive-in movie theater, and he got us popcorn to share, while we watched the movie. He knew that I loved popcorn, but he didn’t know how much I liked it,” Farie said. “Well, I had his class ring on my hand, and when he asked me if he could have his ring back for a moment, I took it off and handed it to him and kept on eating the popcorn.
“I felt him put the ring back on me, and I just kept watching the movie, and after a little while, he finally said, ‘Are you not even going to look at it?’ It wasn’t the class ring, obviously, it was a diamond ring, and he asked me to marry him. I said yes.”
On Nov. 11, 1962, Dean and Farie married. Their bond produced a happy home for four children, and 60 years later they now host a multitude of grandchildren and one great-grandchild at their home. The couple said they shared their formula for a successful marriage with the Hartwell Sun, so that others will hopefully take their advice and apply it to their own relationships.
“The best way to avoid being miserable with your spouse is to never argue about things that you can’t settle peacefully,” Dean said. “When you do have your disagreements, find a way to pull together and figure it out, and if you know something is going to lead to unnecessary conflict, just be quiet about it. Always remember to treat your wife like you would treat your best friend, because that’s what she is; your best friend.”
Farie had a similar assessment and said that she “had no complaints” because Dean always did what he said he would do, and treated her not just with respect, but with a veneration that set her apart from everyone else, letting her know that she was his first priority.
“He’s such a kind, sweet, and gentle man. I’ve got nothing to argue about or complain about, because he always does what is good and right to me and to others I care about,” Farie said. “I still enjoy his company, and I’m sure I always will. I consider him as my best friend, and because I do think of him in that way, I never want to do anything to hurt him or bring him down. I love him.”