LOVE STORIES
Coast Guard officers prove perfect fit as a family
By Tanya Bricking Leach
Advertiser Staff Writer
When they reported to the same place as Coast Guard lieutenants stationed here three years ago, DesaRae Atnip and Jeff Janszen noticed each other right away.
"He kept trying to get introduced to me," she recalls. And because they had separate chains of command, it would have been within the rules to date. She thought he was cute, but "I've been in the military 14 years," she said, "and I didn't want to date somebody in the military."
So, the first two times he asked her out, she said no. But on his third try, she gave in. They went on a date to Gordon Biersch Brewery and discovered they had chemistry that was worth giving a chance.
Janszen was 10 years older and had custody of his two children from a previous marriage, and it was partly seeing Janszen as a father that made Atnip like him even more.
"To me, it wasn't really a big deal to go on a date to an ice-skating rink instead of to a bar," said Atnip, 31, originally from Casper, Wyo. "He was somebody I could respect. He wasn't just someone trying to make an impression."
And Janszen, who grew up in Florida and warmed to riding snowmobiles and ice fishing when he visited her family, was thrilled with the way Atnip got along with his 13-year-old, Christy, and 10-year-old, Jimmy.
"I wouldn't have married again if not for her rapport with my kids," he said. He loved that she was bubbly and upbeat. "She brings a positive energy into the house."
And she got a kick out of his little surprises, like when he took her to Las Vegas for her 30th birthday and kept talking about a gift from a jewelry store. She thought it might be a ring, until the shape of the box gave away that it was a bracelet. Then there was their trip to Moloka'i, and still no ring.
His children were in on the proposal surprise. They were at the Pro Bowl last year, and Janszen kept feeding her peanuts. She had eaten what seemed like half the bag when he asked if she wanted another one. She said no. But Janszen, ever the try-try-again type of guy, told her it was a very special peanut. He had broken it apart and placed her engagement ring inside.
"He gets points for creativity," she said.
Lt. Atnip and Lt. Cmdr. Janszen married Feb. 15 at the Hale Koa Hotel's Luau Gardens in a ceremony performed by retired Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer Vince Patton, who was performing his first wedding since being ordained. It went off without a hitch, except for the pregnant wedding planner who went into active labor at the rehearsal. And then there was a problem with Atnip's car getting towed during the rehearsal dinner. And when she went to her hotel room the night before the wedding and set her lei on top of a lamp shade, it caught fire and set off an alarm.
The newlyweds choose to count all those things as blessings.
"Hopefully, it's good luck," said the bride, now DesaRae Atnip Janszen.
Friends say their relationship is grounded in respect for each other and blessed with positive energy.
"She's the most happy person I've ever met in my life," said bridesmaid Tone Lian, who met DesaRae in a master's program at Hawaii Pacific University. "And you can't be that happy unless you're in love."
Tanya Bricking Leach writes about relationships for The Advertiser. If you'd like her to tell your love story next, send the details to tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or call her at 525-8026.
