After several unseen threads quietly wove their lives together, this Marshall couple finally found each other, as if an invisible string of fate had been tying them together all along.
Patricia Saunders, writer and administrative assistant for Marshall’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, said, despite meeting her husband on a dating app, their affinity with each other extends further.
“I thought I recognized his voice, but I couldn’t think of where it would have been,” Patricia said. “On our first date, we walked by the Pullman Square stage, and I asked him if he had ever played there.”
As luck would have it, Martin Saunders, the director of the School of Music and trumpet professor, performed at a festival that Patricia happened to have been within earshot, setting the stage for an unexpected connection.
Martin went on to say, “We actually lived around each other for 18 years and never met; we had some of the same friends and literally lived down the street from each other.”
After all of life’s twists and turns, the pair is now united and said they fill their time with all things travel and music.
Growing up in Jacksonville, North Carolina, while she and Martin were dating, Patricia said she tapped into her tourist side.
“He took me to Myrtle Beach for the first time when we were dating,” she said. “We actually ran into one of my friends from elementary school, so our lives are filled with little coincidences.”
Likewise, Patricia went on to say music and gigs are how many winter days are spent.
“I have sat in so many strange churches for Christmas and Easter while he is playing,” Patricia said.
This support is not one-sided, Martin said.
“It’s a combination of team effort,” Martin said. “I kind of liken us to the Wonder Twins – we work in tandem a good bit.”
Patricia said, while she is a champion of Martin’s music career, he is a champion of her writing aspirations.
“It is safe to say we are each other’s biggest fans,” Martin said. “She is incredibly gifted and intelligent and was recently nominated for a fiction and nonfiction writing competition.”
As for working together, the pair said they thrive when together.
“We go to lunch just about every day together,” Patricia said. “It’s been really nice; we like each other a lot.”
The couple said their special connection thrives off of mutual admiration and respect.
“In terms of humans on this earth, she is among the top humans ever,” Martin said. “We are enjoying our little microcosm; if you’re going to be with somebody, be with them all the way.”
Patricia said that Martin ignited her belief in the existence of soulmates.
“It’s very pleasant to just always feel relaxed and never feel like I need to put on a fake smile or attitude,” Patricia said. “We just enjoy each other.”
