Celebrating Anniversaries is Important For so Many Reasons

I have always been a believer in celebrating notable events in people’s lives, although my wife will be the first one to tell you about a birthday or two, I have forgotten about. But it is Important we try not forgetting events worthy of celebrating. That said, let me tell you about a good friend of mine and his family who have recently observed a couple of milestones.

Les and Martha Pence. They just celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary. That is a great accomplishment in and of itself and deserves celebrating. Les tells me he and Martha met when he was a music teacher in the Westview School Corporation in Shipshewana. Martha lived in the area, they fell in love and were married in June of 1958. In 1972, fourteen years later, the Pence family arrived in Sheridan where Les was the new school superintendent. That marks another anniversary this year—they have lived in Sheridan for 50 years now.

Les and Martha, of course, consider Sheridan their home. Their three boys grew up here. Currently, son Terry and his wife live in California while son Randy and family live in Noblesville. Son Mike also lived here but he passed away recently, but his family remains in the area. As you might expect, Les and Martha have no end of grandchildren and great grandchildren, so holidays and special celebrations are a busy and enjoyable time for them.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Pence’s, Les has a long and distinguished career in education. Originally from Columbia City, Les went to college at Morehead College in Kentucky on scholarship, studying to be a music teacher. He graduated in 1955 and got his first job at South Whitley Schools up near Fort Wayne. As was done in those days, in 1956 he was drafted into the Army and sent to Fort Smith in Arkansas. After discharge from the Army in 1957, he returned to Indiana as the band director at Shipshewana. That is where he met and married Martha.

Les taught in multiple school systems through the years, and eventually moved out of the classroom and into administration first as a principal and eventually becoming a superintendent. He came to Sheridan in 1972 and during his tenure helped to build a new football stadium and build the middle school for the corporation. In 1981, he left Sheridan and went to work at Carmel schools as the Transportation Director. He retired from Carmel in 1994.

After his retirement, Les served on the Sheridan School Board, served on the Sheridan Town Council, became a Riverview Hospital volunteer, and served as the statewide director of the AARP Safe Driver program. During his last year with AARP, he was the Indiana AARP Volunteer of the year. Using his musical background, Les has been an active member of the choir at Sheridan’s First United Methodist Church singing in, and occasionally directing, the choir.

To say the Pence’s have been a busy family for the past seven or so decades is an understatement. Les and Martha have successfully raised an ever-expanding family and he has left his mark on education systems across Indiana. Sixty-four years of marriage is, in and of itself, an accomplishment to be proud of, and fifty years as a Sheridan resident earns him bragging rights. This is a family that came here fifty years ago and decided to stay instead of moving on.

If you know the Pence’s, offer them your congratulations. If you do not know them, rest assured Sheridan has nice, friendly accomplished people living here and enriching the community through their presence.