Thank You For Sharing Our Joy
As we Celebrate 50 Years of Marriage
Saturday  June 5, 2004

Mary Lee and Carroll Williams

How Do I Love Thee *

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

• Elizabeth Barrett Browning

*  Mary recited this poem to Carroll from memory
    and from her heart the first week we were married.

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made

Our times are in His hand

Who saith "A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half, trust God; see all, nor be afraid!"

                                                - Robert Browning
                                                        E E E

These words from a poem by Joseph Addison
express our thanks to God for our lives together.

Through all eternity to thee
A joyful song I'll raise,
For oh!
Eternity is too short
to utter all thy praise.

                    E E E

Our Pastor Dr. Bernes K. Selph included the following passage
from the book of Ruth in our wedding. He chose the words below 
to illustrate the loyalty and devotion two people should have 
for each other.

"Entreat me not to leave you,

Or to turn back from following after you;

For wherever you go, I will go;

And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

Your people shall be my people,

And your God, my God.

Where you die, I will die,

And there will I be buried."

                    E E E

Carroll adds his thoughts about Mary 
from Proverbs, Chapter 31

Who can find a virtuous wife?

For her worth is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband safely trusts her;

She does him good and not evil

All the days of her life.

                   E E E

Program - Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, June 5, 2004 - Hulen Ballroom - Hendrix College - Conway, Arkansas

12:00 -12:30 Guests arrive
12:30 Prayer - Rev. Suzanne Shoup Alberts
12:30 Catered Lunch 
1:30 Introduction of special guests

   Song: "Two Hundred Years"

          Mrs. Lori Wukmir - soprano - Mr. Mark Carter - piano accompanist

   Remarks by Mary and Carroll

2:00 Musical Program - Romantic Arias

   Dr. Wolfgang Oeste - tenor

   Mrs. Patricia Oeste - soprano

   Ms. Micaela Oeste - soprano

   Mr. Anguel Kehayov - accompanist

    La ci darem la mano - from "Don Giovanni" by Mozart

          Micaela Oeste - Wolfgang Oeste

   De los alomos vengo Madre - Rodrigo

          Patricia Oeste

   Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (Yours is my heart alone) - from "Land of Smiles" by Franz Lehar

          Wolfgang Oeste

   Flower Duet - from the opera "Lakme" by Leo Delibes

          Micaela Oeste - Patricia Oeste

   Build thee more stately mansions, o my soul - by Powell Weaver
          Wolfgang Oeste

   Summertime - from "Porgy and Bess" by Gershwin

          Micaela Oeste

   One hand, one heart - from "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein

          Patricia Oeste - Wolfgang Oeste

   Lippen schweigen (Lips are silent) - from "Merry Widow" by Franz Lehar

          Micaela Oeste - Wolfgang Oeste

2:30 - 3:30 Visiting with Guests and dancing to the recorded music of 1954

Biographical Sketches of our Performers

Mark Carter is the nephew of Mary and Carroll Williams and the son of JoAnn and Melvin Carter of Mayflower. He was born in Kansas and grew up in Kansas and Arkansas. Mark is no stranger to the piano having played for thirty years. Although he is an accomplished pianist, he is also a very talented vocalist. He has been a member of the Arkansas Diamond State Chorus for the past three years, and is a member of two quartets; Zirconium and 4HisPraise. Zirconium is made up of four members of the Diamond State Chorus. These talented musicians won first place in their first barbershop novice competition, and continually place in the top ten in every contest. Mark is also in a Christian quartet called 4HisPraise. The members of the quartet are from Marshall Road Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Arkansas where Mr. Carter resides with his wife Tammy. Mark counts it an honor to play for Mrs. Lori Wukmir on this special occasion.

Anguel Kehayov was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He started piano lessons at age five under Svetlana Kosseva. After a year in The National Bulgarian Academy of Music, Mr. Kehayov received a full scholarship at the University of Central Arkansas, where he studied under Dr. Neil Rutman. He completed his Bachelor's degree in piano performance in the spring of 2000. Currently, Mr. Kehayov is pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Physical Therapy at UCA.

John Krebs earned degrees in piano performance from Northwestern University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Maryland. His teachers included Donald Isaak, Nelita True, and Anne Koscielny. He studied at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany under a Fulbright scholarship. He has taught at Central Missouri State University, Prince George’s Community College, and Luther College. He is currently an associate professor in the music department at Hendrix College. He has served as an official accompanist for divisional and national MTNA competitions and recently completed a term as president of the Arkansas State Music Teachers Association.

Micaela Oeste was born in Pforzheim, Germany but has done most of her schooling in America. She is a 2000 graduate of Conway High School and currently attends the University of Central Arkansas. Micaela is a soprano earning her degree in Vocal Performance. She will graduate in December of 2004. Mica has been a soloist in Europe and also with the UCA Opera Workshop where she has performed in numerous Opera productions. She is the 2nd place finalist in the Regional NATS Vocal Competition and currently holds the UCA Opera Scholarship. Mica is the choir director at Wesley United Methodist Church in Conway. She is the daughter of Patricia and Wolfgang Oeste.

Patricia Ludvigson-Oeste was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She earned two baccalaureate degrees from the University of Illinois at Champaigne-Urbana. She then pursued a professional performing career in Europe. She has sung over forty roles in opera houses throughout Europe. She has appeared in over 1,000 operatic and symphonic performances. Mrs. Oeste returned, with her family, to Evanston, Illinois where she earned a Masters of Music degree from Northwestern University. She and her husband moved to Conway, when Wolfgang Oeste was appointed Opera Director at the University of Central Arkansas. Patricia began teaching at St. Joseph's School in Conway, and was then hired by Conway Public Schools to teach music at Ida Burns Elementary School. In her current position at Ida Burns, she directs the musical education of over 500 students. In addition to performing professionally, she is working on an outreach program to bring music into the Faulkner County jails.

Wolfgang Oeste was born in Kassel, Germany. He moved to Canada when he was very young. He earned his Psychology Degree and his Music Teaching Degree at the University of Manitoba. He attended the University of Toronto Opera School on a scholarship and sang with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. Following his study at the Opera School, he returned to Europe and for the next ten years was engaged as leading tenor in numerous professional opera houses and concert halls throughout Europe. Upon his return to America, he earned his Master of Music and, recently, his Doctorate of Music from Northwestern University. In 1990 he joined the Department of Music faculty of the University of Central Arkansas where he is Associate Professor of Voice, Director of Opera Workshop, and Head of the Voice Area.

Lori DeLong Wukmir was born in Denver, Colorado and grew up in Alaska and Colorado. She attended Arapahoe Community College and Colorado State University where she earned her bachelor's degree in music with a voice performance major. While at CSU she sang the role of Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha and was selected for leading roles in several university productions. She earned a second bachelor's degree in education at the University of Minnesota. Her experience includes professional theatre productions in Colorado and Minnesota. Lori teaches music to all ages, and works extensively with junior high choirs. She has gladly laid down a full-time music performance career to raise two beautiful boys, now 4 and 6 years old. Lori has been the "adopted" niece of Mary and Carroll Williams since her student days at Arapahoe Community College in Colorado, where Carroll was one of her professors. Lori says that she and her family are very honored to be a part of the Williams' extended family, and have been greatly blessed knowing them these many years.