By Melissa Robinson
Contributing Editor   

  Pat Robinson doesn’t need the excuse of Valentine’s Day to show her appreciation for her husband Lewis, for whom she thanks God every day. The second time around for both of them, the couple met at a class in Atlanta many years ago while they were each going through some personal issues.

Lewis and Pat Robinson enjoy a weekly date at the Starbucks in McDonough.                                                    Special photo

  At the time, both had recently ended long-term marriages. Pat was working in sales and Robinson was a successful CPA in Atlanta.

  Each had enrolled in a class in the Evening at Emory program, held at the university in Atlanta. The class was Self Esteem and Success, intended to build confidence. For Lewis, it was just the shot in the arm he needed after seeing the end of his first marriage after 31 years. Even for a confident person, a blow like that can rock a person’s self-esteem.

  Pat too, had put everything into her nearly two decade-long first marriage. But as things would have it, her marriage fell apart. She had been married for 25 years and now that her children were grown, Pat was trying to forge a career in sales.

  Pat lived in Stone Mountain at the time and Lewis in Atlanta. Both were still smarting from the blows that life dealt and needed a little boost.

  “The class was headed by an industrial psychologist and turned out to be a kind of group therapy. We got to know each other and talked about what brought us there,” she said. “I was trying to do better with a job that I wasn’t crazy about and after a divorce, you can get a little depressed.”

  It was during class that the attractive blond caught Robinson’s eye, but it wasn’t until the very last class that Lewis approached her. She had been telling a friend in class how her job wasn’t going well-trying to sell “musak” to companies.

  “He overheard me and said that he might be able to use the piped-in music at his company,” said Pat.

  According to Lewis it was a somewhat honest attempt. He said he likes music and usually has it on at his office, but it was also a way of breaking the ice with Pat.

  “She was the most stunning person in the room. She still is,” said Lewis.

  After dating for a year and a half, the couple married in September of 1991—the same year Lewis opened his accounting firm in McDonough. He credits Pat’s support with enabling him to see the dream of heading his own accounting firm come to fruition.

  “She was an asset to me and even worked as our receptionist for a time,” he said.

  It was after they married, that Pat came across the textbook from that class nearly two years earlier that brought them together. As she was putting the book away, a slip of paper fell from the pages and it simply said “Pat Gordon, blond.”

  Gordon was Pat’s last name at the time and she thought the note was sweet but wasn’t sure why he wrote it.

  “I wanted to remember her name so I could find her later in case I didn’t have the chance to talk to her on that last day of class,” said Lewis.

  The rest of the love story is still being written, and this year, the McDonough couple will celebrate 22 years of wedded bliss. They both agree that what helps to keep the marriage strong is their strong faith in God—they are both active in the church community at McDonough Presbyterian, and the fact that they put each other first.

  Pat said they still have a standing date every weekend at Starbucks where they enjoy talking and sharing each other’s company.

  “We do that every weekend,” said Pat. “We’re also very tender with each other. We still hold hands and enjoy each other’s company.”

  “We’re very compatible and enjoy many of the same things, such as spending time in the Georgia Mountains and long drives. It’s about give and take and like Pat said, putting each other first,” said Lewis.