By William Smith
Salvation Army Lt. Dennis Jolly, 29, knew he would never meet another woman as perfect as his future wife, Kelly Summit.
She’s the only woman who has ever understood him. Really understood him, right down to the core.
“We both knew we liked each other, but it took him nearly a year after we left (Salvation Army) training to ask me out,” Summit said.
The two had instantly become best friends upon meeting during Salvation Army training two years prior. Like Jolly, Summit, 33, has a passion for ministry and helping the poor. They’ve worked with each other plenty, their leadership styles locking like puzzle pieces.
But they also shared the little things that make love blossom. An obsession with the TV show “Gilmore Girls,” and the ability to make each other laugh.
They also share the comfortable audacity to tell each other the truth.
“She always tells me the truth, even when it’s ugly. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything,” Dennis said. “She accepts me for who I am — all my flaws, all my weaknesses.”
Three years after meeting his soulmate, Dennis was still unable to profess the truth of his love. He had felt the same way about her since the day they met, but finding the courage to risk rejection can be an insurmountable life trial for many bachelors.
“I wasn’t sure he was really into me, because it took him so long,” Kelly said, causing Dennis to look sheepishly at the floor.
Love finally won the day over fear. All it took as a few nervous sentences, and an even more pensive question.
“I finally upped my game and asked her out,” he said. “I upped my game again last May and asked her to marry me.”
The two Salvation Army lieutenants tie the knot next month, and after the honeymoon, Kelly will be joining her new husband in leading Burlington’s Salvation Army. Dennis already has been a fixture in the community for the past few years.
Right now, Kelly lives in St. Louis, making for a long-distance relationship they both can't wait to shorten. They were stationed at different posts throughout the country after completing training, yet still kept in close contact, even before dating.
If he hadn’t mustered the courage to test her weekend plans, Dennis and Kelly still would have remained good friends.
“I’m really biased here, but I think she’s wonderful,” Dennis said.
Dennis usually gets nervous meeting new people, and by his own admission, his shyness sometimes comes across as disinterest. Confiding doesn’t come naturally, except when he is with Kelly.
“He’s also really strong and has been through a lot in his life. I love the way he supports me. He challenges me to be a better person,” Kelly said.
To an unfamiliar eye or anyone who happened to see their Valentine’s Day marriage announcement on Facebook, their union would seem almost preordained.
They share the same rank as Salvation Army officers. Kelly’s parents are Salvation Army officers, as are her grandparents. His mother is a former Salvation Army officer, as well.
Despite her family's involvement, Kelly didn’t want to be a Salvation Army officer — not for much of her young life. Unavoidable expectations caused Kelly to rebel against the family legacy.
Her idea of rebelling was helping the less fortunate in a different way.
“I denied the calling for a lot of my life, and so I went to college and I wanted to work overseas at a non-profit thing,” she said.
God gave Kelly the freedom to explore her options, as did her family. She never felt pressure from either, and both were waiting for her when she finally heard the call.
"When I got the call, my family was like, ‘We know.’ They always knew,' " she said.
Unsaddled by the Salvation Army lineage but still faintly connected to it, Dennis didn’t face any expectations. Yet he gravitated toward his mother’s former profession at an early age and made it his own.
Dennis got the calling at age 15 and worked as a Salvation Army intern growing up in Michigan. He then worked at Salvation Army thrift stores. Then rang the bell at Christmas. Whatever needed to be done.
Earlier this year, Dennis headed up completion of the Salvation Army headquarters in Burlington.
“Everything I did was to get in the Salvation Army,” he said.
For those not as familiar with the Salvation Army, it can be easy to forget that Kelly and Dennis are pastors, which is the tradition for officers heading up a region. And like many pastors, they are subject to the needs of the church. There is no set amount of time for an appointment.
In other words, the future Mr. and Mrs. Jolly has no idea where they will be months and years down the line.
“We’ll go anytime, anywhere, wherever God wants us through the Salvation Army,” Dennis said.
Home, and subsequent happiness, will travel with them, decorated with kindness and laughter. For now, that home is in Burlington.
“We laugh a lot,” Kelly said.
Shown in the photo (from left to right) Majors Randy and Sue Summit, Lt. Kelly Summit, Lt. Dennis Jolly.