Welcome to the website of Todd Edward Stephens and Lora Jewell Felty. Lora and I feel truly blessed that God has directed our paths to finding one another. Since this is the first marriage for both of us, several years past the prime for marriage, we both had wondered if we were destined for a life of living single. Lora and I very much believe that our relationship is a treasured gift from God.

How did Lora and Todd meet?
Well, we can’t give you a clear cut answer on this. I remember meeting Lora at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the ADA rally in Ashland, KY, which took place in July 2010 on a Saturday afternoon in Central Park. A mutual friend, Michael Freholm, made the introductions. He said, “Todd, this is Lora Felty, President of the Ashland Chapter.” Lora and I are both members of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of the Kentucky Affiliate. I happened to be a member of the Lexington Chapter. Anyway, back to the story: I distinctly remember shaking the very soft and small hand of Lora. The trouble is, Lora doesn’t remember meeting me. So much for good first impressions, huh? So, we’ll have to fast-forward to June 2013, three years later! Now, what’s remarkable about this is that Lora and I have both attended the NFB State Convention during that three year period, but our paths never crossed. Lora is the Chairwoman of the NFB of Kentucky Scholarship Committee and the person who diligently served on this committee for many years decided to step down. Our good friend and long-serving NFB KY State President, Cathy Jackson asked me if I would consider serving on this committee. I told Cathy that I would be delighted to serve. Lora called me in early June just to find out a little about this new committee member. We both remember having a really good conversation that lasted about one-half hour. Lora later told me that she was thinking that I seemed like a pretty good guy. A few weeks later, Lora called for a meeting via conference call of the scholarship committee . I was the second to call in and Lora was the first. We started talking before anyone else had a chance to call in on the phone line. The discussion was so intriguing that we both lingered a bit on the line after the remaining committee members had signed off . Over the next couple of months we began to communicate via email (daily), which then led to me asking Lora if I could call her. She said yes, and our phone conversations soon extended from talking a couple times per week to talking every day. Now, Lora and I have had our share of lengthy phone conversations. I do think it’s fair to say that our record call is in excess of four hours!

I asked Lora if she would consider coming for a visit right after Christmas; she agreed, after some reservation. I assured Lora that I would be a perfect gentleman, and I was. Lora and I spent a week together; it just felt so natural, so right. We began to alternate monthly visits between Lexington and Ashland. Truth be told, we got serious pretty quickly, but there’s something to be said for when you know it’s right. Lora and I both put our faith in God to lead us. As time progressed, God continued to give us the strong signs that we had something very special.

Lora visited me in Lexington during her spring break in April. On Friday, April 4, 2014, we went ring shopping. My sister, Kelley drove us to the jewelers and gave Lora her opinion on the rings that Lora considered. After two hours of looking at rings, Lora finally found “the ring”; it was a relief because I was getting a little tired. Guys, are you with me on this? Angela Dehart, at the time, now Angela Henderson, who is like a daughter , told me that I needed to formally propose to Lora when the ring came back from being sized. I agreed! A couple weeks later when the ring came back, I took possession and got down on bended knee in my living room and proposed marriage in the traditional manner. Fortunately for me, Lora didn’t keep me waiting long. I had some trouble getting up. My knees are not what they used to be. Keep in mind that I’m now in my 50’s and not in my 20’s. With a little assistance from Lora, I was able to regain my composure. Understand, I would do it all again, despite the pain in my knees (wink).