The Perfect Match

by Stephanie Elgin
 
She said it was his teeth.  He said she was stunning.  Whatever the rendition, there’s no doubt about it; Dale and Tamara Donohoe are still in love after all these years.  On Friday, February 13, Dale and Tamara will serve as the 2009 Sweetheart Couple for the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation’s “Sweetheart Gala.”  “We are so excited to be part of this event,” states the couple.
So how did their love story begin?  It all dates back to the seventh grade at Sierra Vista Junior High School in Canyon Country.  “She said it was my teeth,” stated Dale, and Tamara agreed. “Yes, it was his big teeth!”   While the happy couple met in junior high, it wasn’t until after they both graduated from Canyon High School, where their courtship really began.  And so the story goes.
“I was at the Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas,” states Dale.  “I immediately saw her and recognized her.  She was stunning, and I thought to myself, ‘I want nothing less.’” With a big grin, Tamara smiled.  “We went to El Chaparral and then began dating.”  
This June marks 20 years of marriage for the happy couple.  And they share more than their love for one another—they also share the same blood type.  
In November of 2006, Dale went into kidney failure.  Dale’s condition worsened, and he had both kidneys removed.  “It was inevitable.  The kidneys were failing and I had to have them removed. I went on dialysis through April of 2007.”  Because Dale and Tamara share the same blood type, they truly were the perfect match for each other.  On May 1, 2007, Dale had a kidney transplant.  “We went in for surgery,” stated Tamara, “they removed one of my kidneys, and gave it to Dale.”  
One would think that with a hurdle like this, life would slow down, but it hasn’t.  In fact, since the surgery, they’ve been skydiving and scuba diving! Dale and Tamara also stay busy with their four wonderful children, Beau 17, Morgan 16,  Jordan 14 and Chad 11.  From sports practices to cheerleading, to bi-weekly Bible studies, the Donohoes are quite the busy family.  Dale is the President of Intertex Companies, the largest construction company in our Valley.  If you take a drive down Newhall Ranch Road, you’ll see the beautiful Bridgeport Marketplace, a current Intertex project.  Dale also serves on the Board of Directors for the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, the Child and Family Center, and is a deacon at the Church of the Canyons. “We love this community.  We love how everyone knows each other,” stated Dale and Tamara.  And there’s no doubt they love each other. 
Dale and Tamara, you truly are the perfect match!