This is Your Life

Grandson, Karl Kuklenz reads "This is Your Life"

Wilbert & Dorothy - This is Your Life!

Dorothy’s Story: Dorothy was born in 1939 to Willis Odell and Mary Sue Philbeck; they were textile mill workers at Burlington Industries. She grew up in Caroleen, NC with 4 sisters (Doris, Francis, Brenda, and Phyllis) and 2 brothers (Bobby and Gerald). She attended Caroleen Elementary and TRI High School. She was a good student and played basketball all 4 years of high school. She made all conference 3 yrs as a top scorer and managed to score 63 points in a single game, her personal best. Dorothy’s ambition was to be a nurse or a beautician, but her parents couldn’t afford for her to go to college, so after high school, Dorothy went to Florida to babysit her niece, not knowing that this is where she would meet her future husband.

Wilbert’s Story: Wilbert was born in a small farm house in rural Clare, Iowa in 1936. His parents were Gerd Wilts and Martha Janssen. He grew up on the farm with his brother Martin. Wilbert’s mom died when he was 11 yrs old. As a child he attended Pioneer Elementary School and graduated the 8th grade third in his class. He started working at the young age of 13, as a farm hand. He lived with the farmers and was paid with room, board and some spending money. When he was old enough to serve, he joined the Navy. He attended basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago, Illinois. He was stationed in Jacksonville, FL from 1955 to 1959. He worked as an airplane mechanic and spent one year of his service in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Their Story:
Dorothy’s brother, Bobby was in the Navy and was also stationed in Jacksonville, FL. He and Wilbert were buddies! He invited Wilbert over to his home for supper one evening. Dorothy was living there as a full-time nanny for Bob & Wanda’s daughter, Gina. As it turned out, Wilbert would be there for many suppers after that night courting his lady. He would get his wish, as he had always wanted to marry a southern gal.

Their first date was September 3, 1958. Wilbert did not have a car then, so they stayed home for all of their dates. At Thanksgiving, Wilbert went home to Iowa and drove a 1952 Ford from Iowa to Florida. After that, their dates consisted of going to the drive-in movies or just driving around, something they still love to do.

They became engaged in December 1958 and set a date for June. It was moved up to May, then April and finally February. Dorothy’s sister-in-law Wanda was making the dress and she said if they changed the date one more time, that the dress would not be ready. She finished the dress the day before the wedding ceremony. Their courtship lasted a total of 5 months.

The wedding was on a Saturday afternoon - February 7, 1959 at the All Saints Chapel, located on the Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. Dorothy wore a handmade white dress with a reversible jacket and a blue pillbox hat. Wilbert was dressed in black slacks and a cream jacket. Most of Dorothy’s family and Wilbert’s brother, Martin were in attendance.

Their most memorable wedding gift was a crocheted bedspread from Grandmother Philbeck. Their most vivid memory of the wedding date was that the Navy Chaplain forgot about the ceremony and wasn’t ready for them.

For their honeymoon they traveled to the oldest city in the U.S., St. Augustine, Florida. There they drank from the Fountain of Youth and toured many sites around the city.

They lived in a two bedroom trailer house and then next door in a little cottage. They lived in Jacksonville, FL for 10 months until Wilbert’s discharge from the Navy in December of 1959. It was then that they packed up all their belongings and moved to Iowa.

They first returned to Wilbert’s hometown of Clare where Wilbert farmed for the Taylors. In 1963 they moved to a rural farm near Palmer, Iowa owned by Gerd Aden. They would stay and farm that land until Aden wanted to move back to his farm following the death of his wife. In 1966 Dorothy and Wilbert moved into the town of Palmer where they lived in the property behind the fire station. From there they could see and hear the local barn dances on summer weekends. During this time, Wilbert farmed 80 acres on the weekend and worked full-time for Pocahontas County driving the road grader or snowplow. It was at this time he met Jim Fogarty and through him Wilbert found out about a place for rent just outside of Fonda, Iowa. In 1967 they would move to Marlett’s place on Highway 7. During this time, Dorothy worked at the Fonda Care Center as a nurse’s aid during the 3 to 11 shift. She worked there for only one year. In 1968 they moved to rural Jolley, Iowa and rented a property from Barney Engler. It was there that they settled and lived on the Engler farm for a total of 16 years. In 1984 Dorothy and Wilbert retired from farming and moved to the town of Pomeroy, Iowa where they currently reside.

Retiring from farming, did not mean they would retire completely. Dorothy worked at Casey’s, making pizzas for 11 years until a back injury and subsequent back surgery prevented her from working any longer. Wilbert has spent all of the years since driving the open road. He has worked for several employers, including Terra and Hog Slats.

They will officially celebrate 50 years of marriage in February of 2009. They have been blessed with 5 children (DeeDee, Garry, Debbie, Jenny, and Terry who died as an infant) and 5 grandchildren (Karl, Jill, Jackie, Bradley and Makayla). Wilbert and Dorothy have spent time enjoying their retirement as they travel far and wide in their RV looking for adventure, making new friends and visiting their loved ones. As they look forward to what other surprises the future will bring, you never know just where or when they will be on the road again!