Tim and Deb Smith

We have a rather unique backstory, much of it rooted in upstate New York. We met on the very first day of high school, brought together by the merger of two neighboring school districts. We dated all four years, then went our separate ways to different colleges. As fate would have it, we did not see each other again for nearly forty years.

When Tim’s mother passed away, Deb heard the news through the grapevine in Virginia Beach, where she was teaching. She sent a sympathy card. Tim wrote back. One thing led to another, and by the end of that school year, Tim drove to Virginia Beach to bring Deb back home to New York.

What Deb remembers most from that period was checking her mailbox at school each day and finding an envelope from Tim. Inside each was an original letter Deb had written to him forty years earlier. Tim had saved every one. His favorite line about that chapter of the story is simple: “It took me a long time to play those cards.” Some of the best things in life are worth waiting for.

We became engaged on Deb’s mother’s birthday, December 4, and were married on Tim’s mother’s birthday, June 12. Because we both have Native American ancestry, our ceremony was held at the Ganondagan Historic Site and performed by a Native American leader there. A former student of Tim’s also presided over the ceremony.

So how did we get into writing? As fate would have it, we live right next door to the newspaper office in our town. After hearing our story, the publisher, Chris Carosa, suggested we write about our background and share it with the community. We began by telling the story of our relationship and have not stopped writing since.

Today, our weekly feature fills the entire back page of the Mendon–Honeoye Falls–Lima Sentinel. We also maintain a second column on page two and regularly contribute additional pieces. Writing and contributing to the community is a shared passion.

Our work spans an eclectic mix of entertainment, sports, travel, history, and human-interest stories. Chris Carosa encouraged us early on to turn our writing into books, which led to our first publication in 2019. If you have enjoyed Royally Regaling Greater Rochester, we invite you to explore the rest of our work listed below.

Published Books
2019 – The Beatles, the Bible & Manson: Reflecting Back with 50 Years of Perspective
2020 – Tit for Tat Exchanges: Tim & Deb’s Greatest Hits
2021 – What’s in a Name? Your Geography Hall of Fame
2022 – Blacks Facts: An Ultimate Primer to the Historical and the Hysterical
2023 – Walking in a Women’s Wonderland: An Ultimate Primer to the Historical and the Hysterical
2024 – Crowning the Animal Kingdom
2025 – Royally Regaling Greater Rochester: Taking Stock of the ROC