Comstock 60th

COMSTOCK 60th

Darryl and Betty Comstock celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Sept. 5, 2014, with a small, family gathering in Stayton, Ore.

They remember how they met at Pacific Union College (PUC) in Angwin, Calif. Darryl was hungry and hurried to the cafeteria. There across the hot food deck was a vision of loveliness. He'd always loved potatoes, but now those mashed spuds held particular appeal. Betty smiled her prettiest as she gave him a heaping scoop of his favorite food. Their first date was a travelogue about Alaska; little did they know that 50 years later, they would take a real trip to that rugged and beautiful place on an anniversary cruise.

Darryl followed Betty to Loma Linda, Calif., where she transferred to continue her nurses training and he enrolled in La Sierra College. It didn't take long before she decided to trade in her RN degree for what she has always called her "MRS degree." They were married in the Lodi (Calif.) Central Church in front of a large gathering of friends and family on Sept. 5, 1954. The couple moved to PUC, where Darryl continued his education and Betty went to work. 

Darryl's first job out of college was as a public relations man for a small hospital in Sacramento, Calif. That short career was a launching pad to his life long career as teacher and principal in the Adventist school system where he was employed for 40 years. His first teaching job was at Bakersfield (Calif.) Academy. He later taught at Miramonte School in Mountain View, Calif., then on to his high school alma mater, Golden Gate Academy in Oakland, Calif., where he served as teacher and later as principal. 

Betty supplemented the family income in the early years as a nurse’s aide and later as a babysitter. Twins Darryl and Sharyl were born in 1955, followed by Doug in 1957. Darryl and Betty felt that a Christian education was extremely important. In order to plan for their future and the education of their three children, Betty returned to college and graduated with a degree in early childhood education. Her teaching career began where Darryl was teaching, at Golden Gate Academy. Betty always said, "I can't believe I'm paid to play." 

The family left behind their busy lives in the Bay Area and moved in 1972 to a small acreage in Salem, Ore., where the couple continued their careers at Livingston Junior Academy. Betty suffered a devastating cerebral brain hemorrhage in 1979 that ended her career but not her passion to serve her Lord. Instead of teaching elementary school children, she began to work in her second mission field, that of handing out thousands of Voice Of Prophecy guides to everyone she meets.

Darryl and Betty moved to Albany, Ore., where Darryl served as principal and teacher at Central Valley Christian Academy in Tangent, Ore. Their final five years of dedicated service were spent on the beautiful island of Kauai, Hawaii. The couple returned to Oregon, where they live in Stayton. They continue to serve their God and their church.

The Comstock children include Sharyl and Ken Ashley of Wilsonville, Ore.; Darryl and Elaine (Ledoux) Comstock II of Spokane, Wash.; and Doug and Shirley (Dale) Comstock of Salem, Ore. Their grandchildren include Casey Luport of Loma Linda, Calif.; and Calista Comstock-Foss and Caleb Foss of Spokane, Wash. They also have two great-grandchildren, Reef and Emery Foss of Spokane.