We know them as Dr. Whitaker and Mrs. Whitaker. But to each other, they are just Evans and Diane. Two dreamers who were passionate about people and Christian higher education finally found each other on the campus of Belmont University. This is the story about how they met and fell in love. Out of 25 years of marriage (this April!), they have been at 91福利社 for 20 of them. And they wouldn鈥檛 change a thing.
It was 1997. Diane Owen was bustling around, chatting with students as they made their housing selections in the lobby of Freeman Hall at Belmont University. Evans Whitaker had just been hired in the Office of Development and was passing through with his administrative assistant when he saw her, clearly in her element. She was right at home behind the housing table, never running out of smiles and kind words for the students coming and going.
鈥淲ho鈥檚 that?鈥� He turned to his assistant. 鈥淥h! Well鈥hat鈥檚 Diane Owen.鈥�
Diane had started working at her alma mater, Belmont University, right after graduation. She appreciated that her role in the Office of Admission allowed her to meet so many people but disliked not being able to follow up with them beyond their enrollment. The joy of truly knowing and investing in people brought her to her next job as a residence director in Hail Hall. 鈥淓vans says he had to go to 鈥楬ail鈥� to find me,鈥� she jokes.
Still thinking about the beautiful blonde with the kind smile, Dr. Whitaker kept inventing excuses to talk to her.
鈥淚 kind of blew him off, and then he called me a few weeks later and asked if he could take me to lunch. I said I can鈥檛 go, students are moving out, but I proceeded to talk to him. He jokes that I was turning him down, but not really. I was not turning him down because I did not want to go. I literally just knew it was best if I stayed on campus. So, we ultimately went to lunch.鈥�
He was smart about it鈥攈e knew lunch would feel more casual, with less pressure than a dinner date. However, the date still did not go as expected.
Right before they went out, Diane told her friend she was going to lunch with 鈥渢hat new guy in Development.鈥� Her friend said, 鈥淒iane, he鈥檚 married!鈥�
鈥淚 was like, 鈥榃hat? Are you kidding me?鈥� So we went to lunch and I gave him 50 questions. 鈥楢re you sure you鈥檝e never been married?鈥� 鈥榊es.鈥� 鈥楢re you sure you don鈥檛 have any kids?鈥� 鈥榊es.鈥� It turns out there were two new guys that worked in Development, and Evans was not the married guy. But I was super suspect on our first date.鈥�
To take Diane on a date, Dr. Whitaker had to knock on Hail Hall鈥檚 lobby door, get someone to let him in, and then use the lobby phone to call up to her apartment on the second floor to tell her he was there. 鈥淚 love that he got to see what real student life was like. He鈥檇 decorate Christmas trees with my students in the lobby. I had all the international students and it was kind of set up like Village Hall at AU. So, I love that he got to see that.鈥�
Dr. Whitaker was not phased by lobby phone calls or unexpected games of more than 20 questions. 鈥淔irst, I told him no, and then I interrogated him on our first date. But Evans has a vision for everything, and he had waited a long time to find me. He was 36 when we got married, and I was 31.鈥�
Though perhaps a rocky start, was it love at first sight? 鈥淎fter I got over the inquisition, I realized he was a very special guy early on. We found lots of similar interests. We both feel very passionate about Christian higher education. We鈥檙e very lucky. I started as a staff member right out of college, so I just understood in a very different way. We probably clicked early on because of our faith and our vision for how we could use our personal gifts to make a difference for the Kingdom of God.鈥�
They started dreaming together very quickly, which is how Diane knew things were getting serious. 鈥淚 think you start talking about the future more and the 鈥榳hat-ifs鈥� more.鈥� The what-ifs and the dreams were big. Dr. Whitaker shared that he felt called to be a college president someday. 鈥淪o we started saying things like, 鈥榯his is what we鈥檇 do if we were at this school.鈥� We thought that was a pipe dream. We were young.鈥�
To be fair, Dr. Whitaker had grand, romantic plans for proposing to Diane. The proposal was supposed to happen on a day trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee, in a park with a beautiful walking bridge. She unknowingly altered the plans by agreeing to switch shifts with another RD who was supposed to be on duty that weekend. So, when we asked for their proposal story, Diane couldn鈥檛 help but chuckle. 鈥淚t was pathetic. What ended up happening was, I came to his apartment to help him with his car, and he just had it in his mind he was going to be engaged that weekend. So he asked me to marry him in between working on his car and baking slice and bake cookies. I thought, 鈥榯his is pathetic.鈥欌��
鈥淚 had it all planned and you messed it up!鈥� Dr. Whitaker said.
鈥淪o it was not at all glamorous, but in reality, that鈥檚 really more true to who we are.鈥�
Their wedding story aligns well with their proposal. It was in the chapel at Gardner-Webb University, in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. A fancy Nashville wedding was more to Diane鈥檚 taste, but the health of family members kept their wedding close to home. 鈥淟ooking back, I’m super grateful. It really simplified everything.鈥�
They ended up staying at a bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Atlanta on their way to the Virgin Islands for their honeymoon. 鈥淚t was super fancy. In our room, there was a refrigerator with little painted bottles of raspberry tea and water and all of their dishes were painted glasses and it all felt very special. Well, of course, Evans talked them into selling us these dishes wholesale.鈥� Those glasses came with them to Anderson, and the Whitakers use them for events on campus. It鈥檚 one small way their love story reflects that special feeling the people of Anderson feel.
Their journey together began with a shared passion for people, a love for God and a visionary mindset for Christian higher education. Now, after 20 years at 91福利社 and 25 years as the Whitakers, the pipe dreams they bonded over have materialized into a thriving university built on their unique vision for a college presidency.
There are more pages to the Whitakers’ story waiting to be written.