Page 12 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2019- Online Magazine

John Nita Kuehn
The Recipe
for Success
by Deanna Duncan
ost recipes that are passed
down from generation to
Mgeneration have one thing
in common—a secret ingredient.
For John and Juanita (Nita) Kuehn,
who recently celebrated their 50th
Anniversary, that holds true. The
“secret” ingredient for a great
marriage? Service and Laughter.
Fifty some-odd years ago, they
might have disagreed on this
“recipe”; actually, they disagreed on
everything.
“When I first met Nita, I was pretty
much indifferent,” said John. At
the time, John was stationed at
Mather Air Force Base outside of
Sacramento where he was teaching
Electronic Warfare. Nita was a first-
grade teacher at a private Christian
school. In his spare time, John led
the high school youth group.
One day, the pastor at the church
approached Nita and asked her to
help with the high school group
to “temper Mr. Kuehn.” With
his slow drawl and Texas accent,
some people thought this airman
from Wichita Falls was drunk all
12 Lubbock Senior Link
the time. Others
saw two young,
unmarried people
and thought they
needed to play
matchmaker, so
John and Nita
became the project
of the congregation
of Town and
Country Church. Margie the church organist, joined
in the cause. “She would invite us
“We had nothing in common,” John both over for dinner,” John explains.
explains. “She was the daughter Slowly, the two started officially
of a missionary who had lived in dating. There were a few hiccups.
California and the mid-west all of “He called every woman ‘honey’
her life, and I was a Texan.” Nita or ‘ma’am.’ In California, it just
counters, “We had EVERYTHING in sounded derogatory. Only old
common. We both loved the Lord ladies were called ‘Ma’am!’” Nita
and had a sense of humor.” exclaimed. But that paled in
comparison to the “mix-up” of New
“After a while, she started growing Year’s Eve.
on me,” said John. “The new
school year was coming up, and she “I was going back to Washington for
knew I had a community room in Christmas break, and the last thing
my apartment complex. She kept John said to me was, ‘Be sure to be
coming up with reasons to host back for New Year’s Eve because
parties there. She always said I I have something really special
needed to host the gatherings so that planned.’ I went home and bought
people could swim, but no one ever a wedding dress,” Nita related.
swam. Fifty years later, I think she “Imagine my surprise when I found
was just using that as an excuse.” out the ‘something special’ was just
a reservation at the O Club!”