“What do you get,” Deacon Greg Senholzi of St. Vincent dePaul’s Catholic Church in Wildwood queried, “when you mix a bartender from Belleview with a printing company owner from Chicago?”
He answered his own question with a broad grin: “You get a happy marriage … and their marriages,” the Deacon said, referring to the couple at the altar, “their previous marriages to their deceased spouses were happy too, or else they wouldn’t be here!” Flanked by Doris’ three daughters, Michelle, Christine & Shawna, who live in Massachusetts, and best man, neighbor Earl Cherubini, Doris Estey and Jerry Springer, who live in Village De La Vista North, were wed. Earl’s wife, also named Doris, read Scripture from the Holy Book.
Jerry is so used to quips about his infamous talk show host namesake, he calmly smiles when he hears new ones. “I hear them all the time,” he said, “and I get strange looks when people hear my name for the first time.” Jerry and Doris are the antithesis of the couples and notorious scenes on that show, and for that, their friends and family are thankful !
The couple did not meet while parachute jumping in Nevada, surfing on Oahu or big game hunting in Kenya — but It often is more down-to-earth folks , like Doris and Jerry, who know how to bring families together and create happy unions. Doris and Jerry had met and talked on many occasions at the Elks Club in Belleview. When Jerry’s friends observed how much they enjoyed each other’s company, they urged Jerry to ask Doris out on a date. The rest is history.
Due to business or family commitments up north, Jerry’s son and a few other family members will congratulate the newlywed couple at a later date.
After a reception on the terrace at the Waterfront Inn, overlooking Lake Sumter in The Villages, luncheon was served inside, with entertainment and dancing. “The weather was perfect, the wedding was perfect, and they are such wonderful friends,” neighbor Maude Barnes said. “God is smiling on them,” said another neighbor, Ron Mastrodonato.
