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 Murray State University’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, Murray State University for bringing us together for a total of 48 years (45 years of marriage). Go Racers!"