Boxer Love Story: Alice (Hook) Smock '49 and John Smock '49

Alice and her sister, Margaret, were juniors at Pacific University in 1948.

Margaret was aware of a handsome young man in one of her classes and, being somewhat more shy than Alice, asked if Alice would see what she could find out about him. So, Alice set about her assigned task and arranged for her sister, this handsome classmate, a friend of his, Roger Sweeny, and herself to meet for coffee. This was pleasant, so they continued to meet after class in the afternoon. It was not long before the vibes between Alice and John Smock (the one being checked out) were felt strongly.

Alice and Margaret learned that he was a WWII vet from Sioux Falls, S.D. They also learned that the reason he wasn’t dating was because he was engaged to a girl from his hometown. It was not long before their attraction to each other ended that engagement and John and Alice were married in the summer of 1948. Shortly thereafter, Margaret and Les Warner, also a Pacific University student, fell in love and were married in 1950.

The four of them have returned to several of Pacific’s yearly reunions. Only three of them attended the reunion in 2005, as Les had died. And, there was only one other classmate from the class of 1949 at the reunion.

“So, probably our reunion days at Pacific have passed, but our memories are strong and positive,” said Alice.

John passed away in 2015. Alice passed away in 2019.

Read more Boxer love stories at pacificu.edu/lovestory