Such a Good Life: Trisha and Bob Kieltyka

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: December - 2022 | Photograph By: Susan Renfro

Bob and Trisha Kieltyka

Trisha Singleton had worked as Bob Kieltyka’s administrative assistant for more than a year before they had their first date.  They met in the summer of 1976 on his initial arrival at the Atlanta office of the insurance company, where she worked. 

“We were all checking him out,” Trisha said. “I thought he was very nice and polite.” “They were curious about me because I had a mustache,” said Bob who had just completed a tour of duty with the Army and transferred from the home office in Providence, Rhode Island.  (The company had a strict policy forbidding facial hair). 

“My first impression of Trisha was very casual.  I was happy to know that she was going to work with me and thought we would make a good team, but Trisha was married at the time, so I only thought of her as a co-worker.”

Then, In the spring of 1977, Trisha’s husband of five years died suddenly. For Trisha the loss was devastating, and on hearing the news, Bob and her co-workers were quick to offer consolation and support.  

“I felt so much sympathy for her losing her husband so unexpectedly,” said Bob.  “We were a very close office, and we understood the depth of her trauma.” 

In the ensuing months, “Bob took me under his wing. He felt sorry for me.” Trisha said.  

For a while, respectful of the company non-fraternization policy, they only saw each other at company social functions or hanging out with co-workers at local clubs and pizza joints. On August 18, 1977, they went on their first solo date to a Chinese restaurant. When Bob showed up at Trisha’s door with flowers and a bottle of wine, she felt that, “we were off to a great start, “I knew then I couldn’t go wrong.” 

For his part, Bob was thrilled when Trisha let him drive her brand-new Datsun 280Z.

“She’s someone quite special,” Bob said. “There were so many things I liked about her, she’s very intelligent.”  Trisha was similarly impressed; “Bob was very quiet, very much the gentleman, and he had really nice eyes – it was the first thing I noticed,” she told me.

By the end of the date their collegial relationship had taken a romantic turn.  

“We realized that our feelings for each other were strong enough that we couldn’t just stay friends,” Bob said.  They told management of their romance and agreed to remain discreet. More dates followed.  They started seeing so much of each other that travel between their two homes became cumbersome and in 1978 – a year after they started dating – Bob moved in with Trisha. As Bob said, “Through it all, we continued to be best friends, and that made the transition much easier.”

Over the next year, their connection deepened. Though Trisha was the first to express an interest in marriage, Bob had suspected for some time that they would wed.  On May 5, 1979, they were married at a gala celebration in Stone Mountain, GA before a crowd of 200 friends and family members.

Trisha left her job at the insurance company before their wedding and Bob remained with the company until 1996 when the couple both went to work for CVS. In 2003 they agreed it was time to leave Atlanta. What once had been a rather small Southern town, had simply become too populated.  Seeking something quieter, they decided on Highlands – moving here in January and buying the Christmas Tree shop soon after. Starting in 2007, and for 13 years Bob was Director of the Highlands Chamber of Commerce.   

As Bob coyly sums up their liaison, “I met Trisha in Atlanta where she was my administrative assistant, and we now run the Christmas Tree where she is president, and she’s nice enough to let me think I am a partner.”

They have never stopped being best friends.  The two share an enthusiasm for travel and a profound love for the many cats and dogs they have rescued over the years.  They continue to find reasons to fall further in love. 

She speaks her mind and lets me know what she thinks. She really is a rock I can lean on – always there for me as friend and counsellor.” said Bob earnestly.  

“We’re true soulmates,” Trisha explained, “It been such a good life, we hope to keep it going forever.”  

They still drive the Datsun 280Z.