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Donny said, \u201cI had farmed all my life. My daddy farmed, and when I got into high school, I wanted to get off the farm. My main goal was for us to be off the farm and not have to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But an opportunity they couldn\u2019t afford to pass up presented itself and changed their future trajectory. A 75-acre farm came up for sale, and Donny\u2019s daddy, whose health was beginning to fail, offered a good suggestion for both families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDaddy said, \u2018I\u2019ll help you buy that farm if you\u2019ll stay and help me farm.\u2019 Kathy and I talked it over, but she wasn\u2019t sure at first. We decided, though, if we start with nothing and wind up with nothing, we\u2019ve lost nothing. She thought that was a pretty good idea, so we committed to staying, bought the house, and we\u2019re still here 55 years later. It just seems like everything was in God\u2019s will for us to be together and love each other like we did,\u201d said Donny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Farm work can be dangerous, and Donny has had his fair share of accidents, driving him to lean into his favorite Bible verse, Psalm 120:1: \u201cIn my distress, I cried unto the Lord, and He heard me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t have made it through this life without her. She\u2019s stood by me on everything. I got hurt a lot and had a lot of injuries. She has just taken care of me; that\u2019s all I can say. Things didn\u2019t work out as well when I became her caregiver once,\u201d Donny laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without her, I couldn\u2019t have survived; I guarantee you. It\u2019s been a really good relationship and something I wouldn\u2019t change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSame for me,\u201d Kathy added quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IT’S BEEN A BUSY LIFE.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathy worked a while at Boeing and then taught for about three years, but soon the children were born, and she was needed at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKathy and I worked together. No matter if it was spraying, cutting beans, picking cotton, or whatever, she helped me. She came to the field and brought the kids and lunch and even supper if we needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when things got tough, interest rates were high, and the crop prices were low, Kathy went back to public work to make ends meet, working 19 years in the Lincoln County Circuit Court Clerk\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They served the public like they did everything else\u2014together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donny was a county commissioner for 40 years and has been an officer of the court for 24 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s only natural that hearts bent toward service share with those around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it be flowers, vegetables, or eggs, the Ogles\u2019 garden is a giving garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathy said, \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of joy in gardening. Donny built me a greenhouse several years ago, making it even more enjoyable. We share with our children and with anybody that wants it. I love to give it away and already have my garden planned for next year. I really enjoy my little hens, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donny still works their cow\/calf herds, and, like everything else, it\u2019s something they do together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe does the record-keeping, and I try to do the manual work, but she helps me. We work together on everything we do. We enjoy each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While many couples escape to the mountains for quiet time, the Ogles go to the creek and the little cabin they built there. They don\u2019t have to venture far, just as long as they\u2019re together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donny said, \u201cWorking together has been the key to our success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Including God and the church in their relationship increased their faith and supported them in every season of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their parents, as role models, also contributed to their success.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c<\/em>We looked [to] them if we had a question or problem. We could go to them, and they\u2019d always help us if needed. The examples they set for us were just tremendous,\u201d said Donny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They honor their parents by setting the same examples for their family. Their four adult children follow their standards of life, love, and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their son, Doug Ogle, previously worked as a 911 operator before his accident in Lincoln County. The couple\u2019s daughter, Pam Wells, is the Moore County Register of Deeds. Another daughter, Tori Young, is a teacher at Ralph Askins Elementary and a county commissioner. And their son, Wesley Ogle, is the Deputy Chief of Planning\/Administration at Huntsville Fire & Rescue. They\u2019re all leaving a legacy for the generations to come \u2014 presently, nine grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and another one on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathy said, \u201cI had a good friend tell me\u2013and she was right\u2013\u2018Treat him like a king, and he\u2019ll treat you like a queen.\u2019 That goes a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll have to say she\u2019s treated me like a king,\u201d said Donny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd he\u2019s treated me like a queen,\u201d Kathy added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DONNY SUMMED IT UP.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing together, whether a good crop year or not, we just knew we were going to make it. Working together is the key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together\u2014there\u2019s no other place they\u2019d rather be. GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “When I first saw Kathy, something told me, \u2018I\u2019m going to marry that girl someday,\u2019\u201d Donny Ogle said, \u201cAnd she couldn\u2019t stand me.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/DSC00742-1024x683.jpg\")
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