e-mail us (edward@ordman.net)
Edward and Eunice get a nice
writeup...
The Student Newspaper at the University of memphis, The Daily Helmsman,
did a nice Valentine's Day issue on February 14, 2008.
One feature of such issues is sometimes the "loving student couple"
piece. We thought when they were interviewing us they had something
else in mind, but we very much enjoyed the result...
Article
on their website. click here.
Text:
Lifelong lessons in love, from two experts
By: Dawn-Marie Conaty
Staff Reporter
Two former professors have never given up their pursuit of learning,
and they could also teach a lesson on love. It's an unusual fairytale
how 84-year-old Eunice Ordman and her 63-year-old husband Edward ended
up together.
"Everyone
was telling us we shouldn't get married, and we did. And every day, we
thank God for it," said Eunice as she glanced at Edward, who was
looking down at his deep-green broad-brimmed fedora.
"We differed in age, and we differed in religion. He was an orthodox
Jew, and I was a liberal Northern Baptist," Eunice said.
It
was through the love of computers that the couple got to know each
other while they were professors at New England College. When Edward
decided to move to Memphis, Eunice said she was going with him.
"We weren't married. We weren't engaged. But when Chip said he was
leaving, I said I was leaving with him," she said.
After
teaching at The U of M for two years, Eunice retired from the computer
science department. Edward retired from the same department 13 years
later in 2001.
As Eunice enters her 40th semester of taking
classes and Edward his 14th, the former U of M professors said they
don't intend to stop going to class anytime soon. But they took
numerous classes just for the love of learning.
"As long as we're able, there's no need to stop. It's the best deal
going," Eunice said with a smile.
Edward, a Princeton graduate, is also keen to taking classes.
"When
I went to college, I thought college was so much fun and didn't want to
leave," Edward said. "When I stopped teaching classes, I started taking
them."
The couple has taken classes in sociology, anthropology and
photography.
"Usually we take two courses every semester, and if the professor turns
out to be lousy, we just drop it," Edward said.
Eunice, a Rutgers graduate who hails from New Jersey, said she always
enjoyed learning and does not want to stop.
"When I was a kid, I thought learning was fun, and here was the
opportunity to take courses free," she said.
But it is not just a love of learning the
couple have in common - they both love to travel. Since 1983, they have
traveled around the world to more than 25 countries. Their first trip
together was to Puerto Rico before they got married, and their most
recent trip was to Israel and Palestine last summer.
"In
1987, we left Memphis and moved to Denmark and Paris for a year. We
built a good continuing relationship between the math department at The
University of Memphis and the corresponding department at the
University of Paris," Edward said.
While Edward wasn't Eunice's first love, he was the one that lasted.
"I
was married for 18 years, but I knew when we went on our honeymoon that
I wasn't going to be happy," said Eunice of her previous marriage. "In
those days, you didn't terminate marriages, no matter how bad they
were."
As Edward and Eunice walked into class, one closely
followed by the other, Eunice said being in love is a formula of
understanding.
"It's important for people to be heard and
understood," she said. "It's also important to understand what the
other's needs are."
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