Colby-Sawyer College Love Stories

Dan Berry ’94 and Patty Randall Berry ’94

Patty and Dan met freshman year at Colby-Sawyer. They both lived in Best residence hall and sat next to each other in their freshmen seminar class. They shared the same group of friends and spent a lot of time together. They decided to start dating their senior year.

Patty says, “We often walked home at night from the Hogan Center after intramural games. One late night while walking, when the campus was quiet, we witnessed the northern lights, an aurora borealis. It was breathtaking.” Many of their dates consisted of going to Peter Christian’s, Pizza Chef and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Shoppe, together with their group of friends.

Patty remembers, “Dan proposed to me in Abbey, a few years after we graduated. Dr. Marc Clement was in on it. Dr. Clement asked me to return to campus to speak to his class about what I was doing with my psychology degree. At the time, it was not unusual for professors to hold classes in a different location on campus. It was a surprise to find Dan on one knee in the Abbey living room with a ring and a question for me when we arrived. Many campus friends were hiding behind couches and doors, including Professor Gerken, Terri Hermann, Dr. LaRue and Rick Ellis ’95.”

Patty and Dan were married in September 1998 at Kearsarge Community Presbyterian church by Reverend John Wall, who they knew from CSC. Their reception was at the YMCA Camp Coniston. Today, Patty and Dan live in Mattapoisett, Mass. with their children, Margaret, 16, Thomas, 13, and Henry, 10. Dan now is the executive director at the South Shore YMCA and Patty is currently studying ministry at Boston University, as well as teaching and preaching at local churches.

Chris Burke ’05 and Amy Beaton Burke ’07

Amy and Chris met during freshmen orientation when Amy was a first year student and Chris was a junior. Amy remembers, “The freshmen always went back to school a few days earlier than the upperclassmen, but Chris was on campus because he had an internship. My older brother, Tim Beaton ’05, was also a junior at the time and he brought me to a party, which happened to be at Chris’ apartment in Rooke. We instantly had a connection when we both realized we were playing basketball at CSC.”

Throughout college, Amy and Chris were really good friends. After graduation they went their separate ways but would see each other every year in February at the alumni basketball event. In 2011, Amy and Chris decided it was finally time to date.

Chris proposed to Amy on Sunday, September 7, 2014. They both love the beach and the Patriots and Chris managed to combine the two in the proposal. All week they had plans to go to the beach, but when the day came, it was chilly and Amy tried to talk Chris out of going to the beach. Chris was very adamant about going. Amy says, “He proposed to me at Short Beach in Nahant, Mass. It was just the two of us and it was perfect. Since it was Sunday, it was the first weekend of NFL football and the Patriots were playing. He surprised me after the proposal by having all of our closest friends and family at his parent’s house to celebrate our engagement and to watch the Patriots game.”

Chris and Amy were married on August 8, 2015. They were wed on the Colby-Sawyer campus in front of the old Colby Farmhouse. Their rehearsal dinner was at the Lethbridge Lodge. Amy says, “The best part was that all of our friends got to stay in the dorm rooms (Best). Some of our friends even brought shower caddies to make it feel like they were in college again!”

Keith Perkins ’99 and Tracey Guarda Perkins ’01

Keith and Tracey met in September 1997 on Keith’s move-in day his junior year at CSC. Tracey says, “There is a whole story about a stolen desk and flirty introduction, but safe to say, from day one we were both interested.”

Keith and Tracey’s first date was at Peter Christian’s at the end of Mountain Day that year. Tracey says that Keith was the ever present ‘horse show boyfriend’ and made it to almost every single horse show in the four years that Tracey was on the equestrian team. Tracey and Keith remained a couple through their years at Colby-Sawyer and during the years that Keith had graduated and was forging into the ‘real world’.

The couple was married in November 2003 and they continue to live in the Lake Sunapee area. A daughter named Abigail (Abbey) Sawyer Perkins and a son Benjamin Herrick Perkins (both named in honor of the Colby-Sawyer/Lake Sunapee influences in their lives) have kept them active and connected to the New London community.