Celebrating Duck love stories
Ahead of Valentine’s Day 2026, we asked UO alumni to share their stories of love, romance, and partnership. Some couples met on the UO’s Eugene campus and were immediately inseparable. Others connected well after graduation. No matter the tale, all these stories reflect how special it is to connect over a shared love for the Ducks.
We thank everyone who submitted their stories!
Ron Bain, BS ’93 (marketing), and Michelle Bain, BS ’94 (biology)
After three years in the Marines, Ron Bain enrolled at the University of Oregon, moving into Clark Hall as a first-year student. He and his roommate frequented Walton Hall, where they would eat in the cafeteria with friends. That’s where he first spotted Michelle.
“One afternoon I saw, briefly, the side of a face and a whole lot of curly hair walk by. I couldn’t get her out of my mind and had to find her,” he said.
He saw her in the cafeteria several additional times and eventually introduced himself. Talking together in the cafeteria became their routine. Then, on January 13, 1989—after winter break—Ron decided to give Michelle a call on her floor at Moore Hall.
“I left five to six messages, with no return call. She received the message but had no idea who Ron was. I made quite an impression,” he said. “I tried to call one more time and she was there and remembered me.”
The couple met up for drinks and showed each other their cars—Michelle with a green Volkswagon Bug and Ron with a red Volkswagon Bug.
“While sitting in my car, snowing outside, the moonlight on her gorgeous face, I planted a big kiss on her in the middle of her story. That was it. Despite advice from many, we got married while in college in 1990.”
Since then, the couple has lived in seven states and now call Atlanta, Georgia home. They run two small businesses and have raised two daughters. The Bains celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary in August 2025.
“I feel like the luckiest man alive,” Ron said. “The UO’s Eugene campus will forever be the most romantic place on earth to me.”
Kathie Stanley, BS ’86 (journalism), and Brian Stanley, BA ’85 (journalism)
Kathie and Brian Stanley celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and recent retirements with a trip to Bora Bora, French Polynesia in August 2025.
Kathie—who worked as chief of staff in the UO’s Division of Student Life—retired on June 30, 2025. Brian—who worked in UO Admissions—retired on January 31, 2025.
Kayla Shepherd, BEd ’12 (family and human services), and Kevin Shepherd, BA ’12 (sociology)
As a lifelong Ducks fan, Kayla Shepherd said she and her husband Kevin were “destined for each other.”
Kevin, who played on Oregon’s baseball team, requested to walk the National Anthem singer, Kayla, to home plate at the start of a game. The rest is history.
The couple graduated from the UO in 2012, and the Ducks have continued to play a role in their lives. Kevin proposed to Kayla on the UO’s Eugene campus ahead of a football game, and five years later, they announced Kayla was pregnant from Autzen Stadium.
The Shepherds now live in Gilbert, Arizona with their two young children. They return to Oregon frequently to share their love for the Ducks and to reminisce on the place that brought them together.
Alan Eliason and late wives Jane Eliason, MS ’82 (communication disorders and sciences), and Charlotte Sahnow, BA ’66 (French), MA ’91 (French), PhD ’95 (romance languages)
At 86, Alian Eliason has two great love stories to cherish—both of which he’s honoring through his endowments and planned gifts to the UO.
Eliason met his first wife, Jane, when they were in graduate school at the University of Minnesota. The couple often walked to the same parking lot.
“On one of the walks, I said, ‘Hey, do you accept dates?’” he laughed. “And that was it. She was very, very devoted to others—the kind of person you would really like.”
Jane built a meaningful career working with at-risk students in Cottage Grove and Springfield. After she passed away, Alan knew he wanted to honor her life’s work. He established the Jane Eliason Fund in Communication Disorders and Sciences, which helps support graduate students during their unpaid practicums—the moment when financial strain is greatest.
Before she passed, Jane told Alan he shouldn’t be alone, that he should eventually find someone to share life with. Several years later, he married Charlotte Sahnow, a French professor at the UO who had joined the couple on ski trips years earlier.
Their partnership was rooted in shared intellectual interests, skiing, travel, and a rich exchange of ideas, but their years together were cut short. After five years, Charlotte developed dementia, and Alan cared for her through the next five.
Before her illness began, Alan and Charlotte created the Charlotte Sahnow Scholarship for Bilingual, Dual Language, and ESOL Educators, supporting students pursuing bilingual and multilingual teaching credentials at a time when linguistically diverse classrooms are rapidly expanding nationwide.
In addition to the gifts establishing this fund and the one honoring Jane, the remainder of Alan’s charitable gift annuities—agreements that pay him income for life and leave the remainder to the UO—will sustain the funds for years to come.
This Duck love story contains excerpts from a University of Oregon Giving story by Korrin Bishop. Click here to read the full story.