Eagles marrying eagles: Meet the parents who met at BC

BC couples produce Eagle offspring like no other university, which will either be the most terrifying or exciting thing you hear today.

The Tab team tracked down current students whose parents met at BC – some of whom owe their life’s existence to Walsh parties.

Grace Bumpus, 2018, Finance and Marketing

Grace’s parents at their senior dance

Parents: Kate (’90) and Mike (’90)

How they met: Setting up for a mutual friend’s birthday party in Walsh

How they got engaged: Mike proposed on the steps of St. Ignatius when they were 25 years old – he was working and she was in law school.

Grace’s dad played football as the Eagles’ O-Line

Baby Grace with her parents

Caroline Ebben, 2017, History and Women’s and Gender Studies

Caroline’s parent’s first date in Williams

The couple got married at St. Ignatius

How they met: “My parents met when my Mom (’89) was a sophomore living on the second floor of Williams on CoRo, and my Dad (’87) was a senior and an RA in the basement of Williams. They met for the first time the first week of September 1986 when my mom needed an extra desk moved out of her double, and her roommate suggested she ask the ‘cute RA from downstairs.’ Their first date was on September 18th, 1986 at the Chestnut Hill Cinema where they saw ‘Stand By Me.'”

How they got engaged: “After going out to dinner in Boston, my dad proposed to my mom in September of ’89 on a bench in the Public Garden by the swan boats.”

Where they got married: “They got married in St. Ignatius on August 18th, 1990. ‘Stand by Me’ was their wedding song.”

Amanda Simard, 2017, Psychology

Amanda with her parents at a tailgate

How her parents met: “My parents met their first year of BC Law, but were only really friends until finals week of the first semester. My mom had been holed up in the stacks of the law library studying for her final, and my dad all of a sudden peaked around the corner and said, ‘Hi I’ve been looking for you!’ He then pulled out a huge tin of homemade cookies that his sister had sent him and he told my mom that he wanted to share them with her. That was the moment they both remember as the beginning of their relationship.”

How they got engaged: “My dad proposed to my mom one year after they graduated law school. They were going on a ski trip in Western Mass for the weekend of New Years. Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve my dad popped the question.”

Patrick McCauley, 2017, Economics

Graduation in 1986

Parents: Sheila (’86) and Mike (’86)

How they met: Patrick’s mom said: “Mike and I were both the same year – class of 86. He was from Rhode Island, and me, New York. We both lived on Newton but really didn’t get to know each other until our junior year at the ‘Screw Your Roommate Dance.’ The ‘Screw Your Roommate Dance’ is basically a blind date dance.

I knew who Mike was before the dance because he was the BC Bud rep and would bring kegs to the parties. We also had the ‘Freshman Register,’ which is like the 80’s version of Facebook. In the register you could find everyone in the freshman class’ picture and information. It was a way you could stalk people. My girlfriends were friends with Mike, and they set me up with him junior year for the dance. We started hanging out more after and things just went from there.

We would go to Mary Ann’s, and the Rat (which was the college pub back then… the lines used to go way out the door, and if you couldn’t get into the Rat, you had to find something else to do).

BC’s tuition was bumped up when we attended, and so Mike joined the ROTC program. After graduation, right when we were really falling in love, he was obligated to be in the service. He went to Alabama and I went to New York for work and we did our own things, but both knowing and hoping we would get married. This was very similar to a lot of our friends.”

How they got engaged: “Mike came up to visit me in New York when he was on leave, and we went to a romantic dinner at One If By Land Two If By Sea restaurant. He was going to have to go to Korea for 10 months, so we were engaged, set a date for the wedding, and then luckily he was re-stationed in Mass and my firm transferred me to Boston. It all worked out. We now live in Concord.”

The McCauley fam – 3 of their 4 kids are Eagles (Brian ’14, Courtney ’15, and Patrick ’17)

Sheila McCauley added: “We are really close to our BC friends to this day. It’s nice that we are so close to BC now, and we do our best to be involved. We are attending our 30 year reunion this year.”

Regan Marooney, 2018, Nursing

Laura and Rich Marooney (Class of ’91)

How her parents met: “They met in Hardy-Cushing. Mom lived in Hardey and Dad lived in Cushing. They were in line for the phone booth to call home in Hardey . They dated intermittently throughout college and became serious at the end of senior year.”

How they got engaged: “New Year’s Eve 1992. My dad used his grandmother’s engagement ring that was coincidentally the same ring size as my mom’s. He was in law school and didn’t have much money so he used this ring. My mom was living in Bayside, Queens in a studio basement apartment after spending 5 years at BC receiving her Bachelor’s and Masters at the Lynch School. My dad was living at home in Garden City going to Hofstra Law school after graduating from CSOM honors.  My dad hid the ring box on the dessert plate with a napkin so when my mom went to serve dessert he proposed. My mom said, ‘Are you shitting me?’ They got married a year and a half later.”

Lucia Guzikowski, 2019, Political Science

A BC ID from back in the day

Lucia, 2019

How her parents met: Lucia’s mom said: “First week of school in 1984…We met when Chris invited my Freshmen Assistance Group to a party. Chris and I were also in the same dorm, and those BC housing folks must have a sense of humor because Lucia landed in dear old Fenwick too. Back then, Fenwick had two floors of guys and top floor was the 3rd floor and that’s where the girls were.”

How they got engaged: “Graduated in 1988. Started dating in 1991. Engaged and married in 1994. After knowing each other since 1984, we didn’t need a long engagement. Chris arrived at my apartment in Brookline with champagne, flowers and a limo. Oh, and a ring – we were both employed by this point! I was watching a very compelling episode of Oprah but managed to tear myself away for a fun night of dinner at Davio’s in Brookline Village and then some cruising around in the limo to pick up friends (including my roommates – both BC ’88 grads) for engagement celebration.”

Dan Kohutanycz, 2017, Finance, Marketing, and History

Dan with his parents

How his parents met: “My parents met the second day of senior year. They lived in Mod 43a/43b so they like became friends and then started dating right at the start of school. My mom said that she could like see when my dad put the lights on through the wall cause the walls were so thin.”

How they got engaged: “My dad worked in the faculty dining hall, so he wrote “Will you marry me?” on a food order slip from that and she said yeah.”