It was the day many young couples vied for as a wedding date – Aug. 8, 2008, i.e. 08/08/08. Well, Karen Ruff and John Murphy were one of the lucky pairs who got it. On Aug. 8 Karen Ruff and John Murphy will become Mr. and Mrs. at Saint John’s Lutheran church here in Forest Park. Karen had been working as an international banker in London when she and John met. John, a native of Skibbeam, Ireland is also in banking. The couple will make their home in London, at least for a while.
Guests have flown in from Ireland, England, and Germany to attend the wedding. Among the travelers are John’s parents Gerald and Margaret Murphy, his brother and best man, Gerry Murphy, from Skibbeam, and Inge and Annaliese Rumpell, from Nuremberg and Zapfr, Germany.
Matt Geraldi, an events planner from New York City, made a trip to Forest Park to see this wonderful book store he’d heard about. He and his mother, Joan Geraldi of Arlington Heights, are pictured below at Centuries and Sleuths where history buffs from all over the world gather. Matt was impressed.
Here also, are Jodi and Peter Gianakopoulos at the fifth anniversary celebration of The Old School Records located at Madison and Beloit streets.
You are invited to a fundraiser for young, uninsured college student, Mike Behern. The event will take place Saturday, Aug. 9 from 7 p.m. ’til midnight at O’Sullivan’s on Madison Street. Mike recently discovered he has cancer. We all wish him well. Dinner, unlimited drinks and entertainment are yours for a suggested donation of $60, but any amount will be appreciated, I’m sure.
Goodbye and good luck to Brendan O’Connor of the Forest Park Kiwanis. Brendan invited his Kiwanis friends to a farewell dinner at The Golden Steer a few days before he left for his retirement home in Tarpon Springs, Fla. Do they still speak Greek there? Are there any sponges left in the ocean there? There was a time when a visit to Tarpon Springs was like a visit to Greece.
Happy birthday on Aug. 6 to Barbara Sullivan, Dan Giers and David Stahlke; on the 7th to, James Childs and Betty Schulz; on the 8th, happy anniversary to Tim and Peggy Grams and happy birthday to Roger Grant; on Aug. 9, T.J. Janopoulis, Danny Seveda; on the 10th, Connie Robey and Storey Novak.
If these dates sound familiar it’s because I got last week’s birthdays mixed up with this week’s, so belated happy birthday to Chris Behnke, Kathleen Lane, Marie Ginaelli and Madeline Kochman, who celebrated on Aug. 2; on Aug. 3, Dyonne Scheiwe and Cali Carlson; Aug. 4, Ashley Ernst, Sandy Boy, Brianna Nicole Balsavich, Andrea Gaines, and happy anniversary to Janet and Gary Fink. Janet and Gary rented the school in their town to celebrate their 40th anniversary. They also hired professional dancers to dance with the guests. The couple have been ballroom dancing for several years and are quite good. On Aug. 5, happy birthday to Connie Mango.
