Kathy (Stone) and Bob Phillips were both living in TJ Hall’s North Tower when they met in August 1986 while attending a trigonometry review session before the start of their freshman year. At breakfast on Tuesday morning, Bob and several of the other guys from his floor decided to sit with Kathy and her roommate. Over biscuits and gravy, the sparks flew between the two of them. They began studying together and by the end of the semester, were essentially inseparable, and there were mixtapes involved.
“We took an Honors course together in the Art and History of the Renaissance, jointly taught by Drs. Jim Bogan and Jack Ridley,” she says. “This class taught us so much, broadening our science and engineering-focused brains, and we were so fortunate to have experienced it together.”
In 1990, Kathy earned a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering and Bob earned a bachelor’s degree in life sciences. The couple was married two weeks later at St. Patrick Church in Rolla by Fr. Charlie Pardee, the priest at the UMR Newman Center at the time.
“Our wedding reception was in the Student Center on campus and our music was provided by the KMNR disc jockeys,” she adds.
Today Bob works as a family physician and serves as the founding executive director of the Center for Professionalism and Value in Health Care of the American Board of Family Medicine. Kathy works as a 12th grade geosystems teacher with the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.
Their relationship advice?
“Choose a partner that enables you to be the best version of yourself,” she says.
Share This Story
Spark a Memory?
Share your story! Fill out the form below to share your fondest memory or anecdote of S&T. If you'd prefer not typing, you can also share by phone at 833-646-3715 (833-Miner150).
The sun’s on their side
In 1999, the Missouri S&T Solar Car Team took first place in Sunrayce, now known as the American Solar Challenge….
Remembering Bataan
Gene Boyt, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering; Robert Silhavy, ceramic engineering; and John McAnerney, civil engineering, were called…
Leslie Bixler and Matt Bubenheim
Leslie Bixler and Matt Bubenheim met in a physics demonstration on the first day of Opening Week in August 2014….
S&T’s first building: the Rolla Building
Missouri S&T’s first building still stands and is home to our mathematics and statistics department. Built for Rolla’s high school,…
Four months away from Earth
Sandra “Sandy” Magnus has been part of three space flights and spent more than four months in space during her…
The fine art of tuning a Corvette
Charlie Rusher, a 2011 graduate in mechanical engineering, “makes Corvettes sound like Corvettes.” Rusher was interviewed by The New York…