After waiting 37 years, Donald Pile and Ray Williams didn’t waste any time.
The couple, who reside in Shawnee Mission, were married June 17 in Palm Springs, Calif. That’s the first day that same-sex marriages became legal in California.
“We are the first gay couple in the state of Kansas to be legally married in the United States,” said Pile during a telephone interview from Flagstaff, Ariz. “I believe a couple from Lawrence or Manhattan were married on the same day in San Francisco, but they weren’t married until the afternoon, and we were married around 9:30 a.m.”
Pile is a 1960 graduate of Frontenac High School and attended Pittsburg State University. He left this area in 1964.
He said that he met Williams in Springfield, Ill.
“It was love at first sight,” Pile said. “Ray was working at a bar, and when I started to leave, he said, ‘You’re not leaving now, are you?’ I said, ‘I guess I’m not,’ and we’ve been together ever since. We are very committed to each other. We know couples who aren’t committed, and we don’t understand how people can be so stupid.”
They have been antiques dealers for the past 30 years. Known as the “Gay Travelers,” Pile and Williams write “Traveling in Our Fabulous World,” a syndicated column that appears in numerous gay/lesbian newspapers and magazines across the nation.
“Besides our travel column, we also write ‘Dining in or Out with Donald and Ray’,” Pile said. “We tell about a wonderful restaurant where we have dined, and the restaurant gives us a recipe to share with our thousands of readers.”
They usually drive during their travels because they get to see much more and visit many more places. Pile and Williams spend January in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and April and September in Palm Springs, which they consider their second home.
“We meet a lot of people and stay in touch with them,” Pile said. “We enjoy writers and authors, and the latest we have met is Christopher Rice, the gay son of Anne Rice who has written four best-selling books.”
Another famous acquaintance is actress Elizabeth Taylor, who always sends them greetings on their anniversary.
“People have remarked that things must have changed a lot for us over the past 37 years, but actually nothing has changed,” Pile said. “We have always been very open, and have never been put down because we’re gay. We dress very well, and we conduct ourselves very well.”
Their families are very accepting.
“All of Ray’s nieces call me Uncle Don, and all of my nieces and nephews call him Uncle Ray,” Pile said. “All our friends consider us just another couple.”
The opportunity to have a legal marriage is very precious to them.
“We paid $68 to get our marriage license, then went to the county courthouse,” Pile said. “At the end of the ceremony, the county clerk pronounced us to be united in marriage. For a gay couple of 37 years, it just doesn’t get any better than that.”
Their witnesses were Mel Haber, owner of Melvyn’s Restaurant in Palm Springs, and good friend Stefan Hemming, who owns the Liberace Estate in Palm Springs.
The newlyweds recently received an e-mail from Elizabeth Taylor.
“I am so happy for you and wish you another 37 years of LEGAL happiness together,” the actress wrote.
Pile appreciates the good wishes, but isn’t sure the marriage will last quite that long.
“I’m 65 now,” he noted. “In another 37 years I’ll be 102. But Ray and I don’t say we have senior moments — we have seasoned moments.”
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After waiting 37 years, Donald Pile and Ray Williams didn’t waste any time.
The couple, who reside in Shawnee Mission, were married June 17 in Palm Springs, Calif. That’s the first day that same-sex marriages became legal in California.
“We are the first gay couple in the state of Kansas to be legally married in the United States,” said Pile during a telephone interview from Flagstaff, Ariz. “I believe a couple from Lawrence or Manhattan were married on the same day in San Francisco, but they weren’t married until the afternoon, and we were married around 9:30 a.m.”
Pile is a 1960 graduate of Frontenac High School and attended Pittsburg State University. He left this area in 1964.
He said that he met Williams in Springfield, Ill.
“It was love at first sight,” Pile said. “Ray was working at a bar, and when I started to leave, he said, ‘You’re not leaving now, are you?’ I said, ‘I guess I’m not,’ and we’ve been together ever since. We are very committed to each other. We know couples who aren’t committed, and we don’t understand how people can be so stupid.”
They have been antiques dealers for the past 30 years. Known as the “Gay Travelers,” Pile and Williams write “Traveling in Our Fabulous World,” a syndicated column that appears in numerous gay/lesbian newspapers and magazines across the nation.
“Besides our travel column, we also write ‘Dining in or Out with Donald and Ray’,” Pile said. “We tell about a wonderful restaurant where we have dined, and the restaurant gives us a recipe to share with our thousands of readers.”
They usually drive during their travels because they get to see much more and visit many more places. Pile and Williams spend January in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and April and September in Palm Springs, which they consider their second home.
“We meet a lot of people and stay in touch with them,” Pile said. “We enjoy writers and authors, and the latest we have met is Christopher Rice, the gay son of Anne Rice who has written four best-selling books.”
Another famous acquaintance is actress Elizabeth Taylor, who always sends them greetings on their anniversary.
“People have remarked that things must have changed a lot for us over the past 37 years, but actually nothing has changed,” Pile said. “We have always been very open, and have never been put down because we’re gay. We dress very well, and we conduct ourselves very well.”
Their families are very accepting.
“All of Ray’s nieces call me Uncle Don, and all of my nieces and nephews call him Uncle Ray,” Pile said. “All our friends consider us just another couple.”
The opportunity to have a legal marriage is very precious to them.
“We paid $68 to get our marriage license, then went to the county courthouse,” Pile said. “At the end of the ceremony, the county clerk pronounced us to be united in marriage. For a gay couple of 37 years, it just doesn’t get any better than that.”
Their witnesses were Mel Haber, owner of Melvyn’s Restaurant in Palm Springs, and good friend Stefan Hemming, who owns the Liberace Estate in Palm Springs.
The newlyweds recently received an e-mail from Elizabeth Taylor.
“I am so happy for you and wish you another 37 years of LEGAL happiness together,” the actress wrote.
Pile appreciates the good wishes, but isn’t sure the marriage will last quite that long.
“I’m 65 now,” he noted. “In another 37 years I’ll be 102. But Ray and I don’t say we have senior moments — we have seasoned moments.”
