Dwayne and Sherri Camp married on May 12, 2005 in Topeka, KS at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their honeymoon was a Caribbean Cruise.
Dwayne is a Juvenile Corrections Officer with the State Juvenile Justice Authority in Topeka and Sherri is a genealogy librarian with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. She helps people connect to their roots and tell their family histories. Sherri is vice president of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and the published author of “African Americans in Topeka.”
When was the first time you became aware of your spouse and what was your impression? We met on Black People Meet, a Black dating website that was pretty new at the time. After looking at several of the people on the sight, some of whom were not seriously looking for a spouse, we found each other. Sherri says, “He seemed to be a person who met the criteria of what I was looking for in a partner.
Did you go to the same school? No, Dwayne’s from St. Louis and I’m from Kansas City.
How long have you been together? It will be 14 years this year. We dated for a year before we got married.
Where was your first date? We went to Applebee’s. After we had dinner we split dessert, Apple pie ala mode. Then we took a walk around a small lake in his neighborhood in St. Louis. Alicia Keys was playing on the car radio – “If I Ain’t Got You”. We found we like a lot of the same music.
Who said I love you first? He did. It was after I left St. Louis on one of my trips there. l was on the train on my way back to Topeka. The physical separation was really hard. We were so comfortable in each other’s space.
Which of you proposed, where and how? He made a sneaky inquiry before he asked me to marry him. Something like, ‘What would you say if I asked you to marry me’? I wasn’t expecting that at all. It was a long time before we ever talked about it seriously.
What’s the one thing, apart from you, that your spouse would save in a fire? Dwayne would save photos of the family and his electronics. I think that would be the same for me. I would save all my genealogy and important records. But I’m working to digitally save them now to prevent that kind of loss.
What do you like best about your spouse? I like his quiet strength, He’s my rock. I’ve always been able to depend on him. Dwayne says, he likes the way I care about him and all the people around me. Even though sometimes I can go too far.
What’s are the special names you have for each other? I call him Sugar Bear. It reminds me of the cereal character we used to watch on TV commercials when we were young. And he can be really sweet, when he wants to be. He calls me Sweetie.
Where do you go the most as a couple (besides church)? We love to travel so we travel around the country to various genealogy conferences. We always do Black history tours on our trips and take photos.
Who’s more social? Sherri’s more social, but he makes friends easier than she does. Sherri talks people for a living and give presentations several times a year about family history and genealogy. He’d rather not talk at all. He would rather sit quietly in background and just observe people. But he often has a lot to say.
Who the neat freak? Dwayne is. Sherri’s always doing research I can to have a lot of stuff everywhere, it’s usually localized to one area, she says.
Who does the cooking? Sherri does the cooking and Dwayne does the dishes. We worked out this plan and it usually works out well.
Who’s the most sensitive? It’s a tossup. Sherri thinks she is though. Dwayne doesn’t let a lot of things get to him. But neither does Sherri.
How many children and or grandchildren, do you have? We have four children and six grandchildren.