BY KEISA SHARPE | Special to the Birmingham Times
JOY AND ROBERT EVERSON
Live: Bessemer
Married: Nov. 6, 1993
Met: Pine Valley in the summer of 1982 when both were teens. Joy remembers visiting the park (located just outside of Trussville) when she was 12 and Robert was 13.
Joy went on a family trip with her cousin Rhonda Briggins, who was also a close friend throughout elementary (McElwain Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Elementary and middle school (Putnam Middle School) in Birmingham. They enjoyed the trip and toward the end of it “as we were getting back on the bus to leave Pine Valley, Robert and I noticed each other,” recalled Joy. “Not knowing it then, but I learned later that Rhonda and Honey Bee (Robert) were cousins.”
After that meeting, Joy and Robert would ask Rhonda about one another.
At age 14, Joy moved from Birmingham in fall 1985 as her dad was a member of the United States Army. Her travels with her family would take her to Fort Campbell, Kentucky to finish high school.
First date: After Robert graduated from Jackson Olin High School in 1987 , Joy moved back to Birmingham after graduating from Fort Campbell High School Kentucky in 1989. and “that’s when we looked each other back up,” said Robert.
Robert and Joy’s first “dates” would often involve others.
“My friends and I would ride through the community of Thomas (near Forestdale in Jefferson County) just so I could see Honey Bee,” said Joy. “He would be with his friends and we would all laugh and have fun. We would go to Put Put Golf, the movies, bowling and other activities with friends.”
The turn: It’d be several years later before they became serious. Joy had two children and Robert had one child from previous relationships.
“I graduated in 1992 from cosmetology school and was pregnant with my second child,” said Joy. “Honey Bee and I would talk on the phone forever and he would listen to me.”
As they talked, their feelings grew. “We were both established in our jobs,” said Robert. “We both wanted more than what we had experienced in our previous relationships.”
The proposal: Rather than a formal proposal, Robert and Joy say it was more of a mutual decision to marry. Heart-to-heart, serious phone conversations had been a mainstay of her friendship with Robert and in February 1993 the decision was made. She had just had her son and a bad snowstorm hit the Magic City and the circumstances led to an epiphany for her.
“We started talking about marriage on the phone and in person,” said Joy. “I realized that I was done with any previous relationships, and we set a date to get married November 1993.”
Robert says there was never any doubt about his spouse. “I knew Joy was my wife and I didn’t have to look any further. I was willing to wait on her because I knew she would be my wife. It happened right on time.
The wedding: Most memorable for the Eversons wasn’t the actual ceremony. It was what happened the night before.
“Myself, my female cousins and friends went to T’s Club (a club that’s now closed in downtown Birmingham) for a hot 30 minutes and I used the car of my husband-to-be. When we came back out, Honey Bee’s car had been broken into … and all of our purses were stolen and a mink coat was gone,” she said.
And that’s not all. Their marriage license and wedding cake money were in Joy’s purse, which was stolen. But the groom-to-be came to the rescue.
Robert says he “came riding through just on time … and the police were there, and they were able to locate the robbers.” All of their stolen items were returned.
Their wedding colors were cream, teal and black and family helped them pull off their big day without a hitch.
“From Minister Michael Everson, Sr., who is my husband’s oldest brother, to the flowers, to decorations, dress, veil and food … they were all done or provided by family members. Our wedding was the most inexpensive, beautiful, big wedding. If I would put a price on it, I would say we spent less than $1,000 dollars out of our pocket. Our family was amazing.”
The Eversons also say they also remembered the wonderful prayer prayed over them during the ceremony.
The couple honeymooned in Las Vegas after the wedding.
Words of Wisdom: “Put God first, then live, laugh and love,” Robert said. “Appreciate life and enjoy every moment while making memories to last forever.”
Joy added, “Sometimes it takes asking one another for forgiveness. It’s perfectly ok if you are wrong. Acknowledge it and continue to walk in love,” she said.
Happily Ever After: The Eversons have been married 30 years and will celebrate their next anniversary in November.
Robert, 55, is a 1987 graduate of Jackson Olin High School, works for FedEx and is an Associate Pastor at Love, Joy, Peace Ministries in Tarrant.
Joy, 53, a licensed REALTOR with RealtySouth Shelby (Joy Everson Real Estate Group), graduated from Fort Campbell High School in Kentucky in 1989 and Ayers State Community College in Oxford with a certificate in cosmetology 1991-1992.
The couple enjoys spending time with their children, grandchildren, family and church family and enjoy traveling.
Their blended family includes a son Brandon, who was killed in 2018 ; son Jaylin (31); and daughters CaTerri (34); CaTyndra (28); and CaTericka (25).
They have seven grandchildren – four boys and three girls and are expecting another granddaughter in September.
“You Had Me at Hello’’ highlights married couples and the love that binds them. If you would like to be considered for a future “Hello’’ column, or know someone, please send nominations to Barnett Wright bwright@birminghamtimes.com. Include the couple’s name, contact number(s) and what makes their love story unique.
