The Kamps

A dear family friend passed away a couple of weeks ago and I was honored to attend his memorial service. Raymond Kamp is the late husband of my dear friend, Mary Lyle Kamp. Mrs. Kamp was my piano teacher for several years, and in addition to teaching me music, she taught me a lot about life. I remain close with her, even now, and am very saddened for her that her sweet husband has passed away.

They have such a lovely story, Raymond and Mary Lyle. Mary Lyle Dulaney went to school at Oklahoma City University to study music. Raymond had gone to military school (he was a naval aviator), and decided in his mid-twenties to go back and get a business degree from OCU. He took a music appreciation class, and it's told that when he passed by a practice room he liked the music he heard from inside, but even more so he liked the gal that was making it. He told his friends that he was going to marry that girl, even before he met her.

When word got back to Mary Lyle about Raymond's plans to marry her before they had even met, her simple response was, "Don't be ridiculous." Her friend responded, "But Mary Lyle, you haven't seen him." They would court, much to the chargrin of Raymond's older sister, who once told him, "Raymond Kamp, you stay away from that Mary Lyle Dulaney. She's a nice girl."

Raymond waited for her every day outside the music building. They eventually married, and within a few years had started a family. She would go on to get her Masters in Music, and taught lessons for years to come.

Raymond's final words to Mary Lyle were, "Mary Lyle, Mary Lyle. I love you. I'll be waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs."

I love the Kamps. I say they are family friends, but really they are just family.