65th wedding anniversary for Jackie and Neil Everett
Neil and Jackie Everett, then and now
The family of Jackie and Neil Everett announces the couple’s 65th wedding anniversary June 17. Sixty-five years ago, in 1961, Jacqueline Lula Jenkins wed Neil Roger Everett at the United Methodist Church on 5th and Center Streets in Lansing. Their decades-long love story actually began in Colorado, all thanks to a coin flip.
While out skiing with two friends, one of Neil’s companions had to leave early to meet his girlfriend. The girlfriend had requested a blind date for her friend, Jackie. Because both young men wanted to keep skiing, they flipped a coin to decide who would go. Neil “lost” the toss and left the slopes. While he might have thought he lost the coin flip at the time, he ultimately won the date of a lifetime.
That coin flip resulted in a journey together that involved building homes and raising a family in Bettendorf; Overland Park, KS; Palatine, IL; Wauconda, IL; and Yardley, PA. They eventually retired back to Lansing, on Jackie’s family farm, which was homesteaded by John Steiber in 1854. Together, they are the proud fifth-generation owners of Oak Valley Farm.
Their love has blossomed into a beautiful family that includes their children: Leslie (Everett) Klauss and husband Mark Bayuk, Eric Everett and wife Joan, and son Randy Everett. Their grandchildren include Candice Peters and partner Mark Vrska, Kurt Peters and wife Ashley, Kelly (Klauss) Katatis and husband Tony, Kyle Klauss, Madison Everett, Julia Everett, and Alex Everett. They are blessed with five great-grandchildren: Hayden Rourke, Hunter Peters, Wesley Peters, Walker Peters, and Vivienne Peters. They also dearly love their great-grandpuppies: Ghost, Gamora, and Tank.
A family celebration was held in Illinois Sunday, June 7, as the majority of their family resides in the northwestern Chicago suburbs.
