Love Story: ‘Our life has been our honeymoon’

As a teenager, Barbara Satko had quite an exciting life. President of her junior and senior class at her Philadelphia high school, and elected Most Popular Girl, she also registered enough voters to win a contest to meet Ike and Mamie Eisenhower at the White House.

She also had a secret.

She’d accomplished all this while being a married woman.

The story began at a church Halloween party in 1954. That’s when Ron Miller saw her bobbing for apples and decided to push her head under the water.

“A friend of mine brought her to the party – I noticed her right way,” Ron said. “It was, I don’t know, love at first sight? There was definitely chemistry!”

Barbara agreed. “I came up from the water and there he was a dreamy 12th-grader, who happened to be on the football team, on the crew team, president of his class, president of his youth group … ”

She sighed. More than six decades later, he still takes her breath away.

From their North Side home, the couple laughed often, recalling their quick courtship and early marriage.

Ron immediately offered to take her home from that Halloween party, but Barbara declined, saying she’d go home with the boy who brought her.

That didn’t deter Ron. By Christmas they were going steady, and Barbara had a ring on her finger to prove it.

Her sweetheart graduated in 1955 at 17 and had a scholarship to a college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

“We were in love and in those days love meant marriage,” Barbara said.

The guys in Ron’s fraternity regaled him with stories of how a couple could slip across the border to Maryland and be married without parental consent, provided the fellow was 21 and his gal, 18.

That sounded good to the lovestruck young man, even though he was 17 and his bride-to-be 16. He went home for semester break and advised Barbara of his plans. She tucked her heels and dress in the trunk of his car and off they went.

Thanks to a doctored ID and a distracted clerk, he procured a wedding license. They found a minister a few blocks from the courthouse and on Jan. 17, 1956, the two teens wed. They had to hurry back to Philadelphia because Ron had borrowed his dad’s car.

Later that night, he picked her up and they bought an ice cream cake and ate it in her parent’s kitchen.

“We were giggling about our wedding reception,” Barbara recalled.

They kept their union secret because married students weren’t allowed to attend high school and Barbara was still a junior. However, they didn’t feel right about not telling their parents, so they soon spilled the beans.

“We were surprised that they were upset by the news,” said Ron, shaking his head.

After all, neither of them planned to do anything foolish like drop out of school.

Barbara said as annoyed as their folks were, they were also wise. They didn’t insist on an annulment, but they did have one stipulation – the couple couldn’t be alone and must always be chaperoned. In fact, when Ron attended her graduation her parents made him sleep out on the porch.

They settled into official married life, and on their third wedding anniversary, son Rand arrived. Ron taught school for a while after graduation, but soon took a job with Container Corporation of America.

All was not sunshine and roses in their little home. Barbara began attending a neighborhood church that Ron didn’t care for. A staunch Episcopalian, he felt he was spiritual enough, but his young wife hungered for more.

“It was a huge conflict in our marriage,” he said.

Barbara had a mind of her own and decided she wanted to be baptized at her church.

“That was it. I’d had it!” Ron recalled. “I called my parents and told them I wanted out.”

His parents urged caution and drove to the couple’s home. They offered to stay with Rand and sent them off to Niagara Falls for a much overdue honeymoon.

The trip went well until on their way home Barbara told him that she just couldn’t attend the church Ron had chosen. Their disagreement escalated and Ron pulled over and ordered her out of the car.

“We were young and stupid,” he said, shrugging.

A half hour later he returned and picked her up. She said he told her, “I love you and I love Rand, but I am NEVER going to believe the way you do.”

Yet a short time later, Ron attended her church and experienced his own life-altering conversion. So much so, that he began attending Philadelphia Bible College at night, and soon asked his company to transfer him to Texas so he could attend Dallas Theological Seminary.

“He fought so hard, he fell just as hard,” Barbara said.

Son Rod was born 1963 and Robyn in 1966. Busy years ensued as Ron graduated from seminary and began pastoring a little church in east Texas.

“He was gone most of the time, but I didn’t care. I was so happy!” said Barbara. “I have never taken this life for granted. I consider it a privilege. I saw one of God’s greatest miracles when Ron got saved.”

Ron’s work took them across the United States and all over the world.

“My life vision became people taking their career skills and going to the mission field and supporting themselves,” he said.

Son Ryan, born on their 18th anniversary, completed their family in 1974.

From smuggling Bibles in China, to living in Haiti during a revolution, to ministering in Hungary during the NATO bombing of Serbia, the Millers’ life has been action-packed.

They lived in Spokane when Ron served at Northview Bible Church and planted Indian Trail church, and returned to stay in 2003 because three of their sons were here. Two of those sons, Rand and Robyn, created the hugely popular “Myst” series of computer games and son Ryan pastors Branches Church in Mead. Rod teaches at Hendrix College in Arkansas.

“We told our children the other night we have absolutely no regrets,” Ron said.

He looked at Barbara. “We didn’t even know what love was when we were 16 and 17, but we’re way more in love, now.”

Barbara smiled. “Our life has been our honeymoon.”