Duffy and Pat McMahon Wedding Date: June 9, 1984
Photographed by Jackie Mercandetti

At the age of 19, Duffy was at a Creedence Clearwater Revival concert when her friend
spotted Pat McMahon, one of the stars of the local sketch comedy TV show, “Wallace
and Ladmo.” Duffy joked to her friend, “I’m going to marry him someday.”

Many years later, the pair reunited when Duffy, who worked as an executive for a phone
company at the time, ensured Pat’s business phone was fixed. They had fun banter back
and forth and, as a result, became phone pals. They finally met in person months later
when Duffy hired him as a speaker for a company engagement. After the ceremony, he
treated her to dinner and wine at Different Pointe of View. The next day, Duffy told her
mom, “If I was ever to get married again, he would be the kind of man I would marry.”

When it came time for the proposal, the two had been casually dating and were driving
back to Arizona from San Diego. “Pat was explaining how much he liked me, but he
said, ‘I’m not ready to get married yet,’” Duffy says. “I looked over and said, ‘Who said
I was?’” By the end of the car ride, though, he had proposed while sitting in the
passenger seat, and she accepted. They married a year and a half after their first date
in a private ceremony at Duffy’s parents’ house. Next month marks their silver
anniversary. As for big plans, Pat quips, “I’ve decided to grow more silver hairs.”—R.L.