Diane and Wayne Nix's journey of over 54 years of marriage began in a most unexpected yet heartwarming way. Recently, the couple made a significant move to Fair Haven from Tennessee without ever having seen it, prompted by the loving concern of their sons, who live in the Birmingham area. Now settled, they couldn't be happier with the decision.
Their story starts at none other than Al Capone’s former hideout in Ocean Springs, Mississippi—a unique setting for the beginning of a lifelong romance. Diane has preserved the details of their story in a personal memoir book that promises to be cherished by family for generations.
Back in 1965, fresh out of graduation, Diane landed a job teaching home economics at her high school, Biloxi High School. She taught there for a few years before destiny brought Diane and Wayne together.
"It was around Christmas time. I had gotten out for Christmas break," Diane recalled. "There was going to be a Christmas party in a particular place that one of my roommates had lived. It was in a mansion that had been broken up into apartments, and she had lived in one of those apartments."
The mansion, located in Ocean Springs and owned by a woman named Collette, was often rented out to teachers and military personnel. Collette extended an invitation to Diane’s roommate Joyce for a Christmas party in December 1968. Joyce, in turn, invited Diane and another roommate to join. Meanwhile, Collette had also invited a former military tenant, who happened to be a roommate of Wayne’s. At the time, Wayne was a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, having completed his ROTC training at the University of Alabama.
“Wayne almost did not come to the party,” Diane recounted. “He didn’t know anybody that was going to be there, but in the final time of getting ready to go, this roommate of his said, ‘We need another boy because we’ve got these three girls that are going to be there and we only have two boys going.’ So that’s how he went, and we met.”
As the party unfolded, Collette regaled her guests with tales of the mansion's notorious past. The large estate, tucked away near a creek in a remote area, had served as an ideal hideout for Al Capone during his trips to New Orleans. Capone would arrive by water, lay low at the mansion, and then make his way back to New Orleans.
Diane and Wayne found themselves drawn to each other throughout the evening. Wayne, sensing a connection, boldly inquired if Diane would return to the Biloxi area after spending Christmas with her family in Lucedale, Mississippi.
“I said yes I was planning on coming back, and I thought to myself, ‘and if you ask me out I WILL come back,’” Diane laughed. “So he said he would call me.”
True to his word, Wayne called Diane after Christmas and invited her to an officer’s club New Year’s Eve party. Their first date turned out to be an unforgettable experience, lasting late into the night and well into the next day.
“It [New Year’s Eve Party] was a very elaborate affair. We had this huge meal to begin with and dancing and talking, meeting friends. I met a lot of his friends that night, and the fact that I taught in Biloxi, many of the attendees were my students’ parents.”
After ringing in the new year, the celebration continued with a midnight breakfast, after which Wayne and Diane returned to her home to chat for a while. Their evening didn’t end there, though—they both changed clothes, and Diane accompanied Wayne to an elaborate general’s reception on New Year’s Day 1969. Thus concluded their first date, and the couple continued dating until they married on June 27, 1970.
Wayne's military career continued for a couple of years after their wedding before he transitioned out of military life to a job with International Paper. The couple moved from Biloxi to Georgetown, South Carolina; then to Camden, Arkansas; and then finally Jackson, Tennessee, where Wayne retired after a 35-year career with the company. Diane, who earned her degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, taught home economics in each of the places they called home, dedicating 50 years to her students. Even after retirement, she found fulfillment as the director of an after-school care program, a role she relished for 21 years.
However, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, their sons urged them to prioritize their health and safety by moving closer. Diane and Wayne sold their beloved Tennessee home and moved to Fair Haven—without having seen it in person.
“I have a wonderful life,” Diane said with a contented smile. “Wayne is a sweet, sweet man.”
Recently, as their sons Eric and Scott visited with all three grandchildren, Diane reflected on their decision. “You know, if we hadn’t moved here, we wouldn’t be seeing you all right now, would we? And Eric said no, we wouldn’t. And Scott was over there smiling.”
Diane acknowledged that adjusting to a move had its challenges, and at times, it still does. But she draws strength from her mother's wisdom: “If you look for friends wherever you move, you’ll find ‘em. But if you don’t look and you don’t want to find ‘em, you’re not going to find ‘em.”
Diane has embraced that mindset and forged new, meaningful connections, making a true home at Fair Haven.