Jeff and Lisa Henderson

Young Love

It was October 1977 when Jeff Henderson (C'81) first visited the University of Dubuque. He was a freshman at University of Northern Iowa, but he had a lot of friends that attended UD. As luck would have it, the father of one of his best friends, Dean Bunting (C'80), worked in the Office of Admission. Before Jeff knew it, he was visiting with Cliff Bunting (C'57) about attending UD.

Cliff's recruiting tactics combined with all the fun Jeff had with his friends at UD led Jeff to decide he would transfer at the end of his first semester.

Lisa Kehrli (C'83) came from a family of 11 kids and knew college was only possible with a few scholarships. Cliff Bunting also worked with Lisa and educated her on financial aid available. With financial aid and a Presidential Scholarship, Lisa was able to follow Jeff to UD.

However, this UD Love Story began before the two ever-stepped foot on UD's campus. Lisa and Jeff actually met on their high school speech team. Lisa was a freshman and Jeff was a junior when the two instantly hit it off. In spring 1976 their school hosted the Sadie Hawkins dance and it was up to Lisa to ask Jeff to be her date.

"I already knew he would say yes, and that he planned to go with me, but I had to ask to be sure," Lisa said.

That was just one of many events that the couple would attend together. While Lisa was still in high school, she would visit Jeff at UD and even got the chance to attend some Homecomings and other events before enrolling as a student herself.

The pair kept busy with their academics and campus involvement. Jeff majored in history and social studies and minored in diver education. He was involved with the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and was part of the Safety Department with Professor Freddie Wagner. He also enjoyed running sound and lights for Collegiate Singers, helped at the Campus Radio Station, where he co-DJ'd an evening dinner show with his best friend Brian McLane (C'81), and worked in the Office of Financial Aid during his time on campus. Lisa majored in biology and environmental science and minored in earth science. She was involved in Student Government and was a member of the Gamma Phi Delta sorority. Like Jeff, Lisa was also involved in Alpha Phi Omega. Additionally, she worked in the Student Development Office, Food Service, and at Xavier Hospital. One project she specifically remembers was working during the summer in the Development Office creating a book about Dubuque and the campus for use by international students.

"I also had the opportunity to do some research with Dr. Mary Ellen Harris on a lake in Canada. We flew in by helicopter that landed on the lake and spent the week collecting water samples," Lisa said.

As if that was not enough to keep the two busy, they also served as Resident Assistants. Jeff was an RA his junior and senior years in Cassat Hall and Lisa was an RA her sophomore through senior years in Aitchison Hall and Severance Hall.

"We were both Resident Assistants so took our turns with weekend duties,"Jeff said.

Jeff graduated in 1981 and moved to Titonka, Iowa, where he taught and coached football. Even though over 200 miles separated the two, their relationship remained strong and they began talking about marriage.

In fall 1982, Jeff made a trip to campus to visit Lisa. The two were in Lisa's dorm room on the top floor of Severance Hall when he decided the pop the question.

"I had worked in the lunch room that morning and had just gotten out of the shower and still had wet hair," Lisa recalled.

Jeff added, "After she said yes, she went running down the hall to tell friends. I heard screaming, but I'm quite confident she was gone for at least 30 minutes and I was alone in her dorm room."

Lisa argues that it was probably more like three minutes, not thirty! Once the two were together again, they went home to tell their families and the wedding planning begun.

Jeff and Lisa said 'I Do' on Friday, August 5, 1983, at St. Patrick's Church in Ryan, Iowa. Their reception followed at the Legion Hall in Coggon, Iowa.

"It was hot that day - 96 and humid - and since our wedding and reception was in the evening we didn't think that not having air conditioning in the reception hall was a big deal. But we were wrong! We chose the venue as it was close and the venue in Ryan had just started a new policy that limited alcohol. That was a no go as far as we were concerned! Alcohol vs. air conditioning. Alcohol won. It was hot, but at least we had fun," Jeff said.

Many of the couple's friends at UD were both high school and college friends. Jeff's best man was Brian McLane (C'81). He and Jeff had been friends since elementary school. Laura Fisher Burger (C'83) was Lisa's maid of honor. All of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, except their family, were UD classmates. Additionally, Jeff's sister, Jackie Henderson (C'85) was a bridesmaid. Lisa's sister, Lorraine Gaffney also attended UD. Many other UD classmates attended the wedding and they attended their weddings for years after.

The newlyweds also got a surprise note from Dr. Walter Peterson, UD's president at the time.

"As was tradition years ago, a few weeks after our wedding a photo and description of the wedding was posted in the paper. It included a description of the dress I wore which I had sewn that summer. A few days after it was published, we received a note from the President with a copy of our wedding announcement and a note commenting about the dress color and material," Lisa said.

As if planning a wedding is not already busy enough, the couple were also making plans for the next steps in their professional lives. Unable to find jobs close to one another, the couple decided Lisa would accept a teaching and research assistantship from the University of Oklahoma and Jeff would substitute teach in the area until a position became available. Several months before the wedding, Jeff quit his job in Titonka and began applying for jobs. Fortunately, the day before their rehearsal dinner, Jeff got a call to interview for a job in Norman, Oklahoma. So instead of leaving for a honeymoon trip to Chicago, they headed to St. Louis and then onto Norman for Jeff to interview for his job. He was offered the job that day while they were driving back to Iowa.

The couple moved to Norman the next week where Jeff taught and coached football and volleyball. Lisa had a teaching and research assistantship at the University of Oklahoma and got her master's in environmental science.

Jeff and Lisa stayed in Norman for two years until Lisa completed her master's degree. They then moved to Newhall, Iowa, where Jeff began teaching and coaching in Belle Plaine, Iowa and Lisa worked at the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, Iowa. They eventually moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Jeff was principal of LaSalle High School.

The couple had their first child, Josh, in 1987, and their daughter, Lara, was born in 1992. Both kids live in Madison, Wisconsin with their spouses.

Lisa retired after a 34-year career at Alliant Energy and its predecessor companies. While at Alliant she obtained her MBA from the University of Iowa and served in various management roles in strategic planning, auditing, customer services, construction, and safety and environmental. She ended her career in renewable energy. Lisa has served as a volunteer in many non-profits and currently serves as a trustee for the Indian Creek Nature Center, on the United Way Health Solutions Committee, and Haiti Committee at her church. She also does a little Pampered Chef consulting for fun.

Jeff works for the Archdiocese of Dubuque as director of Pastoral Planning and Leadership Development. He plans to retire in July 2022. After a career teaching, Jeff received his administrative degree from the University of Iowa and served as principal of LaSalle and Regis High Schools. While there he took on the challenge of combining those two schools, building a new high school, and serving as the first principal of Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids. He eventually became superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, where he had 54 schools K-12. Jeff is currently focused on pastoral planning in the archdiocese.

"And we can't forget he recently put on his twinkle toes and did Dancing with The Saints in support of Xavier High School dancing in front of 1,100 people," Lisa said.

Lisa and Jeff both volunteer as lectors, at the Sweet Corn Festival, and other duties as needed at St. Jude, their church parish since 1985.

In their spare time, Lisa loves to read, plant flowers, and keep a small herb and veggie garden. Jeff has an old Lionel Train that he has been "working" on setting up for years. Maybe in retirement Jeff will be able to complete that project - or at least Lisa hopes.

The pair also love to travel and cruising is their favorite past time. Jeff and Lisa love Disney and enjoyed taking their kids there multiple times and even loved visiting as adults. It is hard for them to pick a favorite trip as so many memories were made, but some that rank pretty high are a Disney Cruise to Alaska, a driving trip to Yellowstone when the kids were younger, and a cruise with their children and spouses after they were married. Over Thanksgiving 2021, they traveled to Sonoma with their kids and spouses and were thankful to be able to travel again!

To celebrate their anniversary, Jeff and Lisa generally go out for dinner and travel for their special anniversaries. They were on a cruise for their fifth anniversary, went to Mexico for their 25th, and ventured to Alaska for their 30th.

The couple love Iowa and have family all over the area, but warm weather will be a definite part of their future retirement travels as well as Europe, Hawaii, and Ireland.