BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times
RODNEY AND CONDA KEEBLER
Live: Gardendale
Married: Oct. 18, 2003
Met: Late January, 2002. Conda, age 22 at the time, first saw Rodney as he sat in the pulpit at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Pratt City.
“I looked up on the pulpit and he just really stood out to me. His praise and worship was so genuine, it was as if no one else was in the church. And he was really nice looking, and I felt convicted for sitting up in church lusting after this man,” Conda laughed. “I had just gotten out of a relationship and I had been praying for a man of God and for a serious relationship because I wanted to be married.”
Rodney, who had been divorced for a few years, was also looking for the woman he would this time spend the rest of his life with. “A mutual friend of mine called me one evening and told me he had someone he wanted to introduce me to, and he told me a lot about Conda and that he thought we’d be good together. I was reluctant because of the age gap [15 years her senior], but then remembered that I had just joked with my family over the holidays that my next wife was going to be a young woman. And here I was being introduced to one so I decided to give it a try and gave her a call,” Rodney recalled. “It turned out to be the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”
“And the funny thing is, while he was talking about having a younger wife, I was praying for an older and more mature husband,” Conda said.
First date: February 2002, at Logan’s Roadhouse in Irondale. Conda had driven up from Beloit [near Selma Ala.] and stayed with her sister for the weekend to be in town for their date, and Rodney picked her up from her sister’s home in Center Point.
“What I remember most about the date was when I picked her up and she came to the door, she was wearing the most beautiful amazing smile I had ever seen, it made me feel comfortable,” Rodney said. “That same smile still captivates me today.”
“The main thing I recall from the date was when the waitress came up to the table and said we looked like we were in love. And even though I had only recently met him, we were holding hands and smiling and I felt comfortable with him like I had been knowing him,” Conda recalled.
The turn: Rodney and Conda became exclusive in July 2002. “Things were moving so fast, that I broke it off for a few weeks because I needed some time to myself to make sure I was making a good decision and that this was real love and not just me getting caught up in my feelings,” Conda said.
“By that June, I knew it was serious. So serious that I had a conversation with my grown kids to let them know that I was getting serious with a younger woman … I wanted to know how they felt about it because she was not much older than them. But they were fine, they were like, ‘hey dad, if you’re happy we’re happy,’ and that was all I needed,” Rodney said.
The proposal: Thanksgiving Day 2002, at Conda’s parents’ home in Beloit. “I called her dad outside and talked to him first and asked his permission to marry his daughter and he said no problem. So he arranged everybody around the dinner table later that evening and I got down on one knee and proposed in front of her family,” Rodney said.
“We had previously discussed getting engaged around Christmas and it wasn’t Christmas so I was really shocked,” Conda laughed. “I had no clue, and I was excited and a little nervous, but very happy to say ‘yes’.”
The wedding: At Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Selma, officiated by Dr. Charles Lett, of Aimwell Missionary Baptist Church in Hazen, Alabama. Their wedding colors were gold and cream.
Most memorable for the bride was the reception, held at the Selma Convention Center. “After we did our first dance, it was time for the dance with my daddy, and it was special because I was the first of my siblings to get married [she is one of five], and having him walk me down the aisle and then to dance our first dance was memorable for me,” said Conda.
Most memorable for the groom was sharing the day with his children. “Two of my kids [son, Keenan, then 15, and daughter, Ashley, then 16] were in the wedding and just to have them there made it special for me,” said Rodney.
They honeymooned on a cruise to the Bahamas. “My husband stubbed his toe in the ocean on a big rock, and he had to go to the infirmary, but I nursed him back to health because after we saw the costs we said, no thank you, we got it” Conda laughed. “I wrapped it up, elevated it and gave him some pain medicine.”
“And I woke up in the middle of the night and saw Conda dancing on the tv,” Rodney said. “She had gone to the dance hall on the ship, and they streamed it on a channel that you could view from your room, and that was funny to me.”
Words of wisdom: “Remember what made you fall in love from the start, keep God first, and be forgiving,” Rodney said.
“Pray about your spouse before you get married. Talk to God and be specific about what it is that you desire to have in a mate. And make Christ the foundation of your marriage. Communication is important, listening to each other and being able to compromise because you’re not always going to be able to have your way so seeing your partner’s perspective is important,” said Conda.
Happily ever after: The Keebler’s attend Love Fellowship Christian Center in Adamsville, where they both serve as ministers. They are a blended family with six children, three of which are adults: Keelon, Ashley, and Keenon, and three remain in the home; Matthew, 17, Olivia, 10, and Allison, 4, and “at last count”, 8 grandchildren, said Rodney.
Conda, 45, is a Beloit, Alabama, [Dallas County] native, and Keith High School [Orrville, Alabama] grad. She attended Faulkner University in Montgomery where she earned a B.S. in human resource management, and a master of science in management, the University of Alabama, where she earned a bachelor of science (BSN) in nursing, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she received a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Conda works as an assistant professor of undergraduate nursing at Samford University and is a certified family nurse practitioner at Good Samaritan Clinic in Northport.
Rodney, 60, is a Titusville native, and A.H. Parker High School grad. He retired as a pastor from Evening Star Missionary Baptist Church in Edgewater, Alabama, in 2023 after 24 years of ministry.
“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.
