Cumberlands Couples

Kimé (Espich), ’82, and Mark Murphy, ’90, “met when Kimé and a bunch of girls wanted to go to the Falls and square dance. No guys were on the bus, so they started asking random guys to join. Mark said yes and got on.

“Later on, we both happened to sign up to for a mission trip during spring break,” Kimé said. “The boys would walk the girls to our dorm after training each night. One night, Mark stole a kiss. I didn’t hit him, and we starting dating. Our first ‘real’ date was at the Lane Theater. I jokingly said, ‘You want to sit in the back and kiss?’ His reply was, ‘Not for $3.25 a ticket, I don’t.’ I should have known then. We got married on May 23, 1981; it’ll be 40 years married next May.”

Years later, their daughter Katie married a fellow Cumberlands student named Ryan. Kimé said, “I love that my child walked the same places her father and I did, grew and learned from some of those same people. She did a great job picking Ryan Williams, and him her. I am proud of them both!”

Kime' (Espich) & Mark Murphy

“Cumberlands is a family. It gives student unique opportunities to spend time getting to know each other across many experiences. I love that my child walked the same places her father and I did, grew and learned from some of those same people. She did a great job picking Ryan Williams, and him her. I am proud of them both!”

Katie (Murphy) & Ryan Williams

Katie (Murphy) ’08, and Ryan Williams, ’07, remember their first time meeting each other pretty differently. Katie said, “Ryan has this memory of meeting me my freshman year (2004) when he delivered what must have been a terrible pick-up line, to which he says I responded, ‘That was really bad,’ and walked away. I, however, have no memory of that. We met again in August 2007 through my roommate Tarrah (Minor) Sexton, ’06, MAT ’08, who was then dating her now husband Chris Sexton, ’07. I was uninterested in going on dates at the time due to a recent breakup. Around November, I asked a mutual friend about him. This friend mentioned to Ryan that I had asked about him. Long story short, we began talking more and went on our first date to Shiloh’s in Corbin (fancy, I know). We were married on June 28, 2008, in Mt. Sterling, KY, at First Baptist Church.”

Katie finds it “pretty unique” that her parents also met at Cumberlands. “That is part of our story that I really love,” she said. “My parents met and married while they were still students, which I was forbidden to repeat (haha). Instead, we married two months after I graduated. I love that the four of us met our spouses at the same place decades apart. It's a sweet story that I will enjoy sharing with our two boys and our future grandchildren.”