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A newsmaker you should know: NHCO to benefit from couple's anniversary
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Cheryl and Paul Dee.
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Cheryl and Paul Dee love their Ross neighborhood.
"Our whole world revolves around here," said Mrs. Dee.
The two lifelong Ross residents are surrounded by friends and family and they wouldn't have it any other way, according to Mrs. Dee.
They both even work in the North Hills community: Mr. Dee is a building maintenance employee at North Hills Junior High School and Mrs. Dee, 56, is a school crossing guard for the township.
"I've been there for almost 30 years, and I love it. I'm outdoors and I work in my neighborhood with the children and families that I know," she said.
Their love of the community will be part of their upcoming 35th wedding anniversary celebration. The Dees will be host to a party Nov. 3, and they are requesting guests to send a donation to North Hills Community Outreach in lieu of gifts for them.
"When we started talking about a party, that is one of the first things Paul said -- no gifts," Mrs. Dee said. "As long as we didn't have gifts, he didn't have to dress up or make a speech, we were good."
The couple met while growing up. Her husband was her brother's best friend. They didn't begin dating until she was done with a stint in the Air Force Reserves after she had graduated from Community College of Allegheny County.
"Like a lot of kids, I wanted to get away from home, so I joined the Reserves," she said. Even while serving in the Air Force, Mrs. Dee wasn't far from Ross. After basic training, her father became ill, so she was moved close to home.
"I was stationed at the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon by the former Pittsburgh International Airport, so I was here," she laughed. And that is when she started dating Mr. Dee. Within a year, the two were married.
"We had a huge wedding with 500 guests -- my whole family loves to party and after losing my dad, my mom wanted to celebrate a happy event. It was really for her," Mrs. Dee said. "But it was a bit overwhelming for us. We even left early."
The 35th anniversary party will be on a much smaller level, with approximately 150 guests. And like every other aspect of the Dees' life, it will revolve around friends and family. The event will be held at a fire hall in Hampton where one of Mrs. Dee's cousin serves, it will be catered by a family-owned catering firm, Remo's, and one of their son's friends will serve as the disc jockey.
The couple chose North Hills Community Outreach because of the organization's ties to the North Hills.
"This is our charity of choice -- we always donate to them because they serve our neighbors, they serve the North Hills," she said, "They do so much good for our community."
Mrs. Dee said she hopes others will adopt their idea and have fundraisers for local charities instead of asking for gifts for their own celebrations.
"We have everything we need like a lot of folks do. I'm hoping other people will see this and decide that it's a good idea," she said.
Mr. and Mrs. Dee were married Nov. 4, 1977.
First Published October 18, 2012 5:40 am
