DES LACS, ND - It's said that marriage is the ultimate partnership.
And perhaps no two people know that to be true as well as Darrell and Susan Francis.
Tonight the couple shared their experiences with Minot State University students and community members, as part of National Deaf Awareness Week.
Susan has been Deaf since birth; Darrell is Hearing. The Des Lacs couple told stories and took questions about their forty-two year marriage - what it was like to meet, date, get married, and raise three children in a hard-of-hearing environment.
(Off-Camera) "When you first started dating, was it kind of frustrating for both of you on both ends? Or was it pretty easy?"
(Darrell Francis, Des Lacs) "It was... quiet."
(signing for Susan Francis, Des Lacs) "Yeah, he didn't know what to do."
(Darrell Francis) "Don't tell them everything!" "Raising a family of three boys, all hearing - she did most of that on her own, because I was working. I held two jobs. She did a great job raising the kids."
Darrell and Susan have nine grandchildren and Darrell says they've started picking up bits of sign language, too.
SOURCE - KXNET
