{"id":15453,"date":"2026-10-02T10:13:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T14:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=15453"},"modified":"2026-10-02T10:13:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T14:13:45","slug":"school-sweethearts-57-years-later-still-riding-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/school-sweethearts-57-years-later-still-riding-together\/","title":{"rendered":"School sweethearts, 57 years later, still riding together"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It’s 1961. Kempsville Meadows Elementary fourth grader Steve Wildey passes a note in class, trying to reach a pretty girl named Jean.<\/p>\n

“Do you like me?” it reads, with a box to check yes or no.<\/p>\n

The bad news? His teacher intercepted the note.<\/p>\n

The good news? \u00a0Jean had already checked “yes.”<\/p>\n

It’s the first chapter in a love story that spans more than 60 years. The couple\u2019s latest memories are being created on the bright yellow buses Steve and Jean Wildey use to safely bring VBCPS students to school and back.<\/p>\n

The early days<\/h2>\n

Steve and Jean remember the school field trip they took to Jamestown back in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

“While we were on that trip, I wanted to show my girlfriend that I could take care of her,” Steve said, speaking of Jean. ” I kept asking her, ‘Can I get you this?’ ‘Can I get you that?’ ”<\/p>\n

“No, I’m fine,” Jean would reply with a coy smile. He remembers feeling grateful that she invited him to her 10th<\/sup> birthday party.<\/p>\n

But Steve was a foster kid, moving from home to home, so he lost touch with Jean for several years. \u00a0As a teenager in 1968, Steve recognized a friend of Jean’s at Janaf Shopping Center.<\/p>\n

He felt a tug on his heart. He still remembered Jean’s pretty face, and her number. He picked up the phone. With each digit he dialed, he wondered whether she would remember him.<\/p>\n

Jean answered.<\/p>\n

“It’s Steve. Do you remember who I am?”<\/p>\n

“Sure do,” Jean replied. She was as friendly as ever.<\/p>\n

While Steve moved around a lot, Jean still lived where she always had in Bellamy Manor Estates.<\/p>\n

Steve was a wrestler at Cox High School. Jean went to Kempsville High. They would call each other on the schools’ pay phones during lunch. Well before personal cell phones, connecting with their steady cost them 10 cents a call.<\/p>\n

One day, Jean surprised Steve by showing up in person at his school at lunchtime. Steve got props from his guy friends after that. After all, he had a girlfriend who would skip class just to see him.<\/p>\n

Getting serious<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>They went to ring dance and prom together. He got his GED, and she graduated from Kempsville in 1969. They were married that summer, two days after Apollo 11 launched from the Earth to the moon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came home from our honeymoon the day they first walked on the moon \u2014 July 20, 1969,\u201d Jean said. Astronaut Neil Armstrong famously stated: \u201cThat’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”<\/p>\n

But Steve said the astronauts \u201cdidn\u2019t take half the step we took.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not long after their marriage came their first child, Steve Jr., followed by a daughter, Kimberly.<\/p>\n

The Wildeys raised their children in a house Steve bought a few doors down from where Jean grew up on what is now Old Princess Road. They park their buses out front each night.<\/p>\n

First and second careers<\/h2>\n

Steve became a master automotive technician and a manager at a local car dealership. His mentor taught him not to fix anything before he first learned how it worked.<\/p>\n

“We all call him MacGyver,” Jean said, ” because he can fix anything.”<\/p>\n

Jean had a successful career working for a mutual fund company. \u00a0When they were in their late 50s, both of them decided it was time to retire \u2014 or so they thought. When the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010, they had to either pay a penalty or get a job with insurance. A friend suggested working as VBCPS bus drivers, where they work 6.5 hours a day and get full-time benefits, including health insurance.<\/p>\n

“We started to drive a school bus for the medical coverage,” Steve said. But it didn’t take long before both of them were in love with their jobs. Their buses don’t carry passengers. “We all call them our kids,” Steve said.<\/p>\n

He remembers a 4 year old girl crying on the first day of school. Seven years later on the last day of school, the same girl cried when she took her final ride with Mr. Steve before moving on to middle school.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knew she\u2019d never ride my bus again,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n

Jean had a teenager on her bus who couldn’t afford a prom dress, so she helped organize a community effort to give her a prom experience she’d never forget. Steve even served as her chauffeur.<\/p>\n

On Bus 378, Steve has kids from Rosemont Elementary, Brookwood Elementary, Larkspur Middle and Green Run High. On Bus 15, Jean covers Strawbridge and Red Mill Elementary, Princess Anne Middle and Kellam High.<\/p>\n

Steve is strict about the bus rules with his kids; Jean admits to being more of a mother figure for hers.<\/p>\n

Work family<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>After their morning shift, Steve and Jean spend a few hours at home together before the afternoon shift begins.<\/p>\n

“We have breakfast and talk about what happened on each other’s buses that day,” Jean said. With summers off, they travel across the country on their 35 foot Winnebago.<\/p>\n

During the school year, Steve and Jean don’t take much leave, so they generously donate it to coworkers in need. They appreciate working for an organization that allows them to help others that way.<\/p>\n

Coordinator of Transportation Mike Mungin said the Wildeys are two of the finest bus drivers he\u2019s worked with throughout his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have consistently demonstrated professionalism, dependability and a genuine commitment to our students,\u201d Mungin said. \u201cThey are truly outstanding bus drivers and represent the dedication and professionalism that make our transportation department successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 57 years of marriage, Jean and Steve have five grandchildren and three great grandchildren, with one more on the way.<\/p>\n

What started as a second career has become something like a family tradition. Steve Jr. fixed buses for VBCPS as a young adult; now he\u2019s an automotive technician for the Virginia Beach Police Department. Kimberly was a VBCPS bus driver for a while; she’s now deputy clerk at the Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.<\/p>\n

Time will tell if Steve Jr. and Kimberly return to working on bright yellow buses after they retire, just like their parents.<\/p>\n

\n

If you’re looking for a rewarding second career<\/em><\/strong> that offers meaningful work, full-time benefits and the chance to make a real difference for students every day, consider joining our transportation team. Explore bus driver openings at <\/em>vbschools.com\/careers<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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