Thurl Bailey's wonderful life

She was given an ultimatum: Choose him or us. Her mother, Sue, refused to speak to her. "If I called her, she hung up," recalls Sindi. She could call her dad, but only when he was at the high school. Thurl sent Sue numerous letters, telling her about himself and his feelings for her daughter. Once he drove to Richfield to meet the family, but they wouldn't let him in the house. He turned around and drove home.

"We couldn't even wear a Jazz hat at home," says Sindi.

They were married in 1994. Her parents came to the wedding (his didn't), but they were stoic and silent. When the couple had their first baby in June of 1995, relations thawed quickly.

"It's sad, because that was not her," says Sindi of her mother. "She's such a great person. Thurl just loves her. In my opinion, she was embarrassed. She was probably hurt, disappointed."

Since those days, Sue has written countless letters to her son-in-law apologizing, but Thurl says he never took it personally.

"It wasn't me," says Thurl. "It was the idea. I understood her mother. This was her daughter."

"Thurl never held a grudge," says Sindi. "He was amazing."

The Baileys have had two children together — BreElle, 7, and Brendan, 5. (Thurl also has two children by his previous marriage — Thurl Jr., 17, and TeVann, 12, who live in North Carolina with their mother.)

They have become close to Sindi's parents. The in-laws long ago warmed up to Thurl. Says Thurl, "I love that woman. She's the most awesome grandmother. I knew she was a great person. Look what she produced (Sindi). She just had to get to know me and get past the stereotypes."

They visit Richfield when they can. Sindi jumps on a horse early in the morning to help her father while her husband stays in bed. He catches up to them later on a four-wheeler.

"Thurl is terrible on a horse," says Sindi. "He could never ride. For one thing, his legs drag. We don't have stirrups long enough."

For the most part, the couple glides through life with only the occasional old ugliness surfacing. Once they were walking in public when Thurl overheard several black men make derogatory comments about their mixed marriage. Thurl stopped and told them, "If you're going to make those kind of comments, make sure you keep them to yourselves. And in case you want to know, I love her."

"She is absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me," says Bailey. "I am so fortunate to have found her."