Regina and Gerald Merriweather
Feb 15, 2023
Regina (Long) Merriweather ('77) shared her story of meeting her husband, Gerald.
"Gerald and I met in our freshman year in the Spring of 1974. Looking out my dorm window at Springer Hall, I spotted on several occasions this skinny guy wearing “high watered” polyester pants walking to class with a tuba wrapped around him. He was a member of the MSU Marching Band. I said to myself, he sure looks country. The semester that I pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, I was encouraged to call Gerald to give us a ride. I said absolutely not. Later I was told that he liked me. I decided to give him a call and we connected. We enjoyed talking on the phone on a regular basis. During our sophomore year Gerald asked me for a “chance” (a term used back then) and I said yes. We became boyfriend and girlfriend. The next semester Gerald transferred to Hopkinsville Community College and later enlisted in the Army as a medic. Our relationship grew stronger while I continued my education in ſ’s highly competitive nursing program under the leadership of Dr. Ruth Cole. After receiving my Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1977, Gerald and I were married. I joined him at Fort Gordon, GA and we became a military Family. Our tours included assignments in Hawaii, South Korea, San Antonio, TX and Fort Bliss, TX. After working several years as a medic, Gerald changed his career field to 92C, responsible for making body braces and prosthetics. I declare that Gerald enjoyed every minute of his 26-year career and retired at the rank of Master Sergeant. Throughout my career I decided to work part-time as a Professional Registered Nurse making my role as Mom a priority to our three sons, Gerald Jr., Antonio and Alexander. We now live in Augusta, GA. We have two grandsons, a granddaughter and one great granddaughter. Thank you, ſ for bringing us together for a total of 48 years (45 years of marriage). Go Racers!"