As part of our From San Diego, with Love series, we're honored to share heartfelt stories from our community. Every love story has more to tell — this is one of them.
In 1970, Diane Ingalls met the love of her life while on summer break from UC Irvine. It was her first week at a new job selling ice cream on the Bahia Belle in Mission Bay.
Richard Ingalls, her now husband, was playing in a band, American Grit, upstairs while Diane worked downstairs. And sometime in the night he was stung by a hornet or a bee.
“He was in a lot of pain, and so he wanted some ice. I tried and got the stinger out,” Diane recalled.
She said Richard always compares their story to “Androcles and the Lion” because, “Androcles pulled the thorn out of the lion's paw, and they became friends forever after.”
A few days later, Richard asked her out, and things moved quickly.
“That was it. By the end of the summer, we knew that we were gonna get married eventually,” Diane said.
And they did — the following summer. But Diane doesn’t remember the proposal.
“He claims that he proposed after three weeks. I don't remember that. I don't remember any actual proposal, but it was just kind of understood between us that this was gonna happen,” Diane said.
But she does remember the wedding.
“We got married in a church in Clairemont, overlooking the bay. It was very pretty. It was a sunny day,” she said. The reception was at the Thursday Club in Point Loma.
“It was very simple by today's standards,” she added. “The wedding was simple, the honeymoon was simple.”
This June, Diane and Richard will celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary.
On the moment that changed everything
Diane said she remembers an instant connection on the night she met her husband. “The fact that he kept coming back, I attributed to wanting more than just more ice," she said.
She added, “You know, I liked him. I was certainly willing to see where it went.”
Their first date was a 100-mile motorcycle ride. A few weeks later, she recalled, “there was a memorable kiss.”
On how San Diego made their love story unique
Diane said there was magic that came from the Bahia Belle. She remembered the boat making its rounds during her work shifts.
“It had a very crotchety captain. Sometimes he would say, ‘Get the hell off my boat,’ at the end of the evening. So that part wasn't so romantic,” she said. “But on the other hand, it was music and under the stars on the bay. So yeah, there was an element of romance to it.”
On facing life’s challenges together
Diane shared that Richard has Type 1 diabetes, a condition he has managed since he was 12. He follows a strict regimen, including multiple insulin shots a day.
“He's always wisecracking. He's always making jokes. That's the first thing people think of when they think of him,” she said. “But I can see it. I mean, it's his way of coping with the tough reality, too.”
And his sense of humor has shaped her own outlook.
“I think it's rubbed off on me, trying to see things in a humorous vein as a way of just dealing with whatever life throws at you,” she said.
On the little things that matter most
Diane said it’s Richard’s attitude and dedication to his health that has kept him going, “It’s the reason why he’s still here and in pretty good shape,” she said.
She noted that people often credit her for helping maintain his health but don’t always see how it takes two.
“I'm not sure people realize the gravity of his condition, or how much teamwork means, and how much, if you have a decent marriage, it makes a big impact on the person's long-term health,” she said.
On the soundtrack of their love story
Diane and Richard’s song is “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry, though she admitted it’s “a little sexist by today’s standards.”
But they both liked it. “It was light and jaunty, and it was on the radio all the time,” she said.
“We would turn up the radio every time it came on. It wasn’t like a real romantic song by any stretch, but that’s kind of been our song,” she added., It’s the song they both think of when they remember the summer they first met.
