62 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023
T
here’s something gutsy about start-
ing a new relationship … and some-
thing even gutsier about rekindling
a relationship that had fizzled.
In June 1988, Wendy Cohen, then age
27, moved from Niagara Falls, New York,
to Detroit and was eager to make new local
friends. She heard about a singles mixer at
the former Embassy Suites in Southfield
and turned up, scouting the room for
someone who would fit the bill.
Her eyes settled on Larry Kohlenberg. He
was startled when a pretty and self-confi-
dent girl waltzed up to him out of the blue
and announced, “Hi! I’m Wendy; I’m from
out of town. I’m determined to make a new
friend tonight, and that friend is you!”
They danced together; later that night,
they went out for ice cream. After a whirl-
wind nine-week courtship, they were
engaged.
“But fate had other plans,
” Wendy said.
At the time, she was traveling for work
several days a week, and their long-distance
relationship proved too chal-
lenging for the young couple.
After their breakup, both still
lived in the same community,
shared friends and ran into each
other on occasion, which was awkward
and painful. Wendy still recalls how she
played mahj with some of Larry’s friends,
who loved to regale her with stories of
Larry’s dating life.
In 1991, after a few run-ins in a short
period of time, Wendy accosted Larry: “
Are
you following me?”
Larry was flustered and started to turn
away, but Wendy was friendly; and they
started talking again. The two decided to
rekindle their relationship.
“With one caveat,
” Wendy said. “No one
could know.
”
Her family had supported Wendy and
helped her pick up the pieces when she’
d
been shattered from their breakup two and
a half years before — no way would her
family endorse a reunion.
Larry and Wendy kept up a secret rela-
tionship for two months, but by then Larry
itched to “go public.
”
“First we’ll have to break it to my family,
”
Wendy said nervously.
Her family was together, so the time
was definitely right, but how should she
tell them? Wendy quietly fretted about
what would be an appropriate time
… so much so that her family finally
confronted her, wanting to know why
she wasn’t her usual cheerful self.
“Don’t get mad,
” Wendy told them
hesitantly. “But I reconnected with
Larry. We’re happy together and our
relationship is moving in a positive
direction.
”
“Oh, that’s it!?” said Laurie, Wendy’s sis-
ter. “I already knew that! My friend told me
she’
d seen you together!”
The family quickly accepted the idea;
Wendy had worried for nothing! “
As long
as I was happy, they were happy,
” she said.
A few months later, while at a family
wedding, Larry slipped Wendy a piece of
hotel stationery. On it, he’
d written, “Will
you marry me?” and Wendy quietly agreed.
They married in June 1992 in Niagara
Falls, settled in Walled Lake and later
moved to West Bloomfield. They have two
children, Jared, now age 29, who’s a finan-
cial adviser in Birmingham with Morgan
Stanley, and Liza, now age 26, who’s a
strategist for Yum Brands in California.
The family are active members of Temple
Israel. Wendy is a past sisterhood president
and active on the North American Board of
Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ).
In 1999, Wendy retired from EDS (an
information management company) and
the true test of their marriage began when
she began a new career as her husband’s
office manager in his CPA practice.
“Because how else would we see each
other during tax season?” Larry joked.
Now married for 31 years and filled with
appreciation for their marriage and family,
both Larry and Wendy are so grateful for
the young Wendy who’
d been determined
to make a friend … and that they had the
guts to give their relationship another try all
those years ago.
This column will appear biweekly. If you’d like to
share your ‘meet-cute’ story, please email
burstynwithjoy@hotmail.com
OUR COMMUNITY
‘Rekindled
Romance’
ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
HOW WE MET
Larry and
Wendy in
their early
days
The Kohlenberg
family in August 2021