I can not think of a couple who exemplify the meaning of “Jenks Sweethearts” more than JoAnn and J.D. Newland of Jenks. Their story begins and ends in Jenks and everything in between revolves around Jenks. J.D. went through all 12 years of school at the Jenks Schools, only missing 1 day. JoAnn’s family moved to Jenks during the summer preceding her sophomore year of high school. J.D. was one grade ahead of JoAnn, but it did not take long before a romance began. 

They dated in high school and were married at the Jenks First Baptist Church in 1958. After high school, they moved to Edmond where J.D. attended college at Central State (now known as University of Central Oklahoma). Their 3 children, Nick, Scott, and Nancy were all born in Edmond.

In 1968, J.D. got a call from Jenks Schools, with a job offer as a woodshop teacher, so they came back to Jenks. Many students have gone through J.D.’s woodshop classes with some making careers in construction. J.D. used his skills to build his own cabin on Grand Lake. The cabin truly was their labor of love, working and building on weekends with J.D. being the designer/builder and JoAnn being the assistant/cook. Many wonderful family times and memories have been made at Grand Lake.

J.D. later became the Director over Building and Grounds. He watched the school system grow to include 4 campuses. Once Nick, Scott and Nancy were in school, JoAnn joined the school system, working as the switchboard operator. Many of you heard her voice, through the past years, with the friendly greeting, “Jenks Public Schools.”

JoAnn and J.D. watched their children, Nick (class of 1978), Scott (class of 1980) and Nancy (class of 1986) go through the Jenks Schools, being involved in many sports activities. For many years, JoAnn and J.D. had football stadium seats on the very top row, under the press box, only giving the seats up a few years ago so that someone else could enjoy the games and also make that climb up the steps. J.D. still listens to every game on his radio.

Today, most of their activities revolve around Jenks First Baptist Church, the same church they were married in 64 years ago. They are greeters on Sunday morning and enjoy the many friends they have in the church. I think anyone that knows this pair can see the love they share and the care they exhibit for each other. They always were and will always remain “Jenks Sweethearts.”