What does it look like to build a marriage where kindness becomes second nature?
I spend a lot of time helping couples figure out how to make their relationship work. Today, you’ll hear a conversation with Jamee and Doug Simons, a couple who have spent nearly 50 years creating the marriage many people hope to build.
- You’ll hear what it was like for Jamee and Doug to take of a family business and balance their partnership at work with cultivating a loving marriage at home
- And you’ll hear how the kindness and generosity they foster in their community is ever-present in their relationship.
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Jamee and Doug Simons are third-generation owners of Enstrom Candies. They bought the business from Jamee’s parents, Emil and Mary, in 1993. Taking over a family business, raising children, and working side by side for decades seems like it would create plenty of opportunities for conflict and resentment.
While Jamee and Doug were quick to admit there have been bumps along the way, I was struck by the generosity they bring to their relationship, their commitment to supporting each other, and their refusal to keep score. I hope their story inspires you as much as it inspired me.
Not every relationship looks like Jamee and Doug’s
Many couples struggle to balance responsibilities, work through conflict, or simply find time to enjoy each other.
The purpose of sharing this conversation isn’t to compare your relationship to theirs. It’s to offer a glimpse of what can happen when two people spend years choosing kindness, supporting each other’s individuality, and focusing more on caring for each other than keeping track of who’s done more.
Connect with Jamee and Doug Simons
Jamee and Doug Simons are the proud owners of a Grand Junction Colorado institution: Enstrom Candies. They are a world-famous institution right here in our small Western Slope Community. The New York Times called their buttery toffee “The Gold Standard.” And Grammy-winning-artist, John Mayer, has a funny youtube video about how you can’t eat just one piece of this great stuff.
Jamee and Doug are third-generation owners of Enstroms. They bought the business from Jamee’s parents Emil and Mary in 1993. Jamee’s grandparents, Chet and Vernie, moved to Grand Junction in 1929 and partnered with a salesman, Harry Jones to establish the Jones-Enstrom Ice Cream Company. Their world-renowned Almond Toffee began as an ice cream inclusion before Chet and Vernie opened Enstrom Candy Co. in 1960.
The business philosophy was, “Make the highest quality sweets you can and sell them to your neighbors.” It’s the neighborly part of their business that made me want to talk to them today.
Jamee and Doug have been good neighbors in their community since they met at Colorado Mesa University in 1975 where Doug was a music major and Jamee was playing bassoon in the pit orchestra. After getting their degrees, they began to give back to the university. They’ve been a tremendous force helping to grow the arts at CMU. They even bought the rights to the oldest golf tournament in Colorado to help establish a scholarship endowment. Doug has been granted an honorary doctorate from the university.
Their generosity to our community is as sweet as their toffees.
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