High School Sweethearts Reunited In Livermore

If it wasn't for Facebook, Marty Russell and Julie Korhummel might still think of each other as the high school sweetheart they lost contact with 35 years ago.

Instead, thanks to the social media site and a willingness to take a chance on long-lost love, Russell and Korhummel will soon be calling each other husband and wife.

The couple found each other via the Internet last year and discovered the love they had for each other in high school was still burning inside them.

So much so that Russell sold his barber shop in the small town of Etna near the Oregon border and moved himself and his Good Vibrations Mobile DJ business to Livermore to be with Korhummel.

"I don't think we ever fell out of love," said Russell. "I really believe it was fate that we got this second chance."

Russell and Korhummel dated for two years while attending Liberty High School in Brentwood.

Russell was two years older, graduating in 1977. Julie Behne, as she was known then, graduated in 1979.

After his graduation, Russell joined the service and the two lost touch.

"I really missed him, but we both went on with life," said Korhummel.

Korhummel attended Cal State Chico and got a job at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, where she has worked in communications for 27 years.

Both Russell and Korhummel got married to other people and then divorced. Russell and his first wife had a daughter who is now 9. Korhummel and her first husband had twins who are now 16.

Things changed last summer when Korhummel began corresponding with Kathy Knox, a high school friend who was stricken with cancer. Knox lived near Russell in Northern California and Korhummel noticed Russell was listed as a friend on Knox's Facebook page.

She decided to take a chance and sent her old boyfriend a friend request in August. He accepted.

"Marty always had a special place in my heart," Korhummel explained.

The two communicated via email at first and then talked over the phone. They initially talked a lot about Knox, who died late last year. They also discussed their high school years and what they'd been doing the past three decades.

"We started talking about old times and realized there was still something there," said Russell.

"I think we felt love for each other, even over the phone," said Korhummel.

Last October, the couple agreed to meet face to face in Reno. They ended up spending four days together in that Nevada town.

Korhummel said she made the trip only because Knox had assured her Russell was the same trustworthy, nice person she knew in high school. She wasn't disappointed.

"He was the same guy but so much more," said Korhummel. "He had grown up."

Russell felt the same way.

"She's always been beautiful and she's so sweet. She'd do anything for anybody," said Russell.

On Christmas Eve, Russell and Korhummel were visiting his sister in Brentwood. Russell suggested the couple talk a walk around their old high school. While they were passing their old lockers, Russell took Korhummel's hand and asked her to marry him. She said yes.

Russell packed up his things and moved to Livermore on April 1. The two haven't set a wedding date yet, but they expect to tie the knot this summer or fall.

Russell may try to set up a barber shop in Livermore. He's doing some d-j gigs in Northern California that he'd booked before he moved. He's also trying to establish that business, which provides entertainment for weddings, school functions and special events, in the Tri-Valley.

In the meantime, he's enjoying the rekindled love he and Korhummel have found.

"I'm in a daze," he said. "This is kind of like a fairy tale."