Walter and Kit, Retiree and RN, Portland, Oregon

Kit and Walter, photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Kit and Walter, photo by Kevin Truong

Walter and Kit, in their own words: “We have been together for nearly 20 years and we will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary next month. We were living and working in Boston when marriage equality was passed in 2004. We took advantage of it, even though we were unsure if it would remain legal, as there were many attempts to undo it.

Kit was born and raised in Singapore. He came here to go to college in Texas. We met soon after he took his first job out of college, in Philadelphia. He was just coming to grips with his sexuality. He approached me to be his pen pal on the web and I agreed. We did not meet in person for over six months but once we did, it was clear that we enjoyed one another a lot. Once he got his green card, Kit came to live with me in Boston.

I was raised in a conservative family and married early. By the time I met Kit I had served 23 years in the active Army and was working a second career. I was also out to everyone by then, which provided Kit great support in his coming out journey.

We have both prospered professionally and, as we are both in the same field now, we are able to give significant understanding and support to one another.

Being gay is an aspect of our life, an important one and one that we are proud of, but it does not rule our existence. We lead a pretty normal, home based, lifestyle. We have a nice circle of friends and remain close to our families. We try to be supportive of the local and national gay community in a variety of ways.

If we had any advice to give our younger selves it would be to be proud of who you are and how you live and worry less about what others think. As Oscar Wilde said: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”

4 thoughts on “Walter and Kit, Retiree and RN, Portland, Oregon”

Jem September 11, 2014 at 7:41 am

Thank you for sharing. You have been an encouragement to me in that you are a successful partnership in spite of age and cultural differences. I think you probably have a really interesting life story to tell and would love to hear it. I am embarking on a relationship that cross colour, age and culture, and am somewhat apprehensive, but the fact that you have enjoyed 20 years together gives me great hope. Bless you both.

W&K September 11, 2014 at 9:37 am

Thank you for your nice comment. We wish you the best

Ray Smythe September 11, 2014 at 9:00 am

Enjoyed the pictures and comments since we are from Portland originally. Your dog is darling. Have a great week. We are the Cathedral City couple on the list. Kevin was one of my history students at David Douglas High. Great kid.

W&K September 11, 2014 at 9:38 am

Thank you so much, men. We are down there in October, perhaps coffee or a drink ?

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Walter and Kit, Retiree and RN, Portland, Oregon

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