Una pareja fuerte como las rocas

Por: El equipo de bienestar de Renown

25 de abril de 2022

Mary y Dave, miembros del club

El Sterling Silver Club de Renown tiene el honor de destacar a sus miembros cada temporada. Agradecemos a Mary y Dave por compartir su divertida historia y a todos nuestros miembros por llevar vidas saludables y felices que nos inspiran a todos.    

Piedras en el camino

Rhyolite almost sounds like a rock band, but it’s not (at least not one that we are aware of). Es un pueblo fantasma cerca del límite este del Death Valley National Park, el sitio donde se encuentra la roca volcánica más rica en sílice y donde el magma encendió la chispa de lo que se ha convertido en una relación muy especial para nuestra pareja de miembros del Sterling Silver Club, Mary y Dave.

“May I carry those for you?”

Mary y Dave se conocieron en enero de 2015 cuando se sentaron cerca en un seminario financiero en Reno. Though friendly banter was exchanged at the time, contact information was not. It wasn’t until later that year in July when “rock karma” intervened. Los dos se reunieron inesperadamente cuando fueron con amigos de excursión a Wonder Mountain cerca de Fallon, Nevada, para recolectar riolita. 

“I remember I enjoyed meeting Mary at the seminar and thought she was pretty, but didn’t get her phone number,” recalls Dave. 

“But that day in the desert, Dave asked if he could carry my rocks,” Mary smiles, “and we got each other’s numbers and began dating after that.” 

Since then, they’ve gone “rockhounding” all over the state. Smokey quartz brought them to Mt. Peterson, north of Reno. Daisy agates were worth a trip to Austin, Nevada. They’ve hunted for Larsonite, a rare, petrified bog wood found only in McDermott, and also venture out with the Comstock Gold Prospectors Club in search of that precious metal. 

Hiking, exploring and searching for interesting and colorful “finds” together make rock hunting one of the couple’s favorite hobbies. 

“I’m especially fascinated with petrified wood that’s been lying in the desert for millions of years until I dig it up,” says Dave. “Pretty cool!”

The Pre-Rock Years

Mary and her four siblings are first generation Chinese Americans. Her parents who emigrated from Malaysia to the U.S. by way of Canada after World War II and raised the family in Northern Virginia. After earning a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary, our Mary started a career in software training and project management. Now retired, she occasionally goes to work helping friends and family with travel reservations. 

Dave and his three siblings were born and raised in Southern California. He remembers his parents taking the family camping in the Sierra Nevada mountains a couple times a year and trips out to the sand dunes in San Filipe, Mexico where they’d stay for weeks at a time. Dave began his career in the restaurant industry right out of high school and was eventually recruited to run a developer’s hotel restaurant and be his personal chef. Dave terminó su carrera profesional en 2012 cuando dejó su trabajo de chef ejecutivo del Circus Circus Reno Hotel & Casino. 

More recently on the non-work front, Dave’s son, Cameron, and his wife, Rebecca, have blessed grandpa Dave with a granddaughter, Madison – and there’s a grandson on the way! 

Getting to Know You  

Mary and Dave also use their time to collect travel experiences that have allowed their relationship to deepen and their appreciation of each other to grow. They’ve camped at Death Valley and locations throughout the Nevada desert and admit to more civilized stays in hotels and resorts in Ireland, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States. They also spend a week every fall paddling their canoe along the shores of Lake Tahoe, which they call the most beautiful place in the world. 

Well, when you travel that much with someone, you really get to know them. 

“Mary has the clever wit to keep things interesting,” says Dave. “Plus she has the patience to put up with my little quirks and idiosyncrasies, and the gumption to keep me out of trouble!” 
 
And Dave’s cooking skills have found a fan in Mary, who’s a bit of a cook herself. “My favorite dish of his is roast duck,” says Mary. “I offered a little coaching and showed him the traditional way of serving it with steamed rice pancakes, hoisin sauce and spring onions.” 

Los pasatiempos de Mary incluyen observar bulldogs, restaurar su Mazda Miata 1992, tocar el ukulele, hacer croché y tejer, ¡y está aprendiendo español por su cuenta! 

Member-to-Member Advice

Mary y Dave disfrutan de socializar con otros miembros del Sterling Silver Club y de aprender cómo cuidar mejor su salud en diferentes eventos de club. ¿Qué consejo les darían a otros miembros? Es simple: “Vivan su vida de la mejor forma posible cuidando de ustedes mismos, de su familia y de sus amigos”.

The Sterling Silver Club thanks Mary and Dave for giving us a glimpse inside their ROCKIN’ relationship and appreciates all of our members for being passionate about living their best lives. 

 
 
    • Artículo anterior

    Ensalada sabrosa con fideos y aderezo de maní tailandés

    ¿Busca un plato principal o una receta de comida preparada? Serviremos la ensalada fría más deliciosa, perfecta para cuando anhele un plato sabroso, crujiente y con nueces. Lo mejor de todo es que es versátil. Esta ensalada se puede preparar fácilmente con...
    Leer más
    • Siguiente artículo

    Sterling Silver Club Member Masterpiece

    A Gallery-Worthy Member Artistry usually refers to a person’s ability to express their unique creativity in powerful and surprising ways. But there is also an art to living your life in ways that celebrate who you are, your limitless...
    Leer más