Spartan Sweethearts: the Farmers

“She took pity on a high school senior and agreed to do it,” Scot remembered. “That was the way Giovanna and I started interacting, and it went from friendship to dating and then marriage.”

Giovanna LeDonne '83 Farmer and Scot have now been married for 37 years (and together for 42 years). After their wedding at St. Michael Catholic Church in Wheaton  – coincidentally, due to scheduling, on Giovanna’s birthday — they moved to Plainfield where they raised their two children, Kaitlyn '11 and Kevin '13. When it was time to choose a high school, they let their kids decide, and both picked SFHS despite the long commute.

Their children were then also both students of Madame Harsa.

“They felt very comfortable in the school and with the St. Francis community,” Giovanna said. “They felt very welcome.”

Scot and Giovanna laughed remembering the experience of being on a first-name basis with the teachers during parent-teacher conferences, and seeing how much the school had grown and changed by the time their children attended. Giovanna said she appreciates SFHS for the high-quality education she received, and the warm, welcoming, and safe atmosphere it provided for their children. 

Madame Harsa said she not only remembers the Farmers, she attended their wedding and has kept in touch with them over the years. "They were wonderful, polite, hard working students. In high school, Scot and Giovanna were never able to go to France on the student trips I led, but both of their kids did," she said. Eventually, they did all travel together as Madame Harsa leads the Spartan Alumni trips, and Scot and Giovana attended the Italy trip to celebrate their anniversary, and then a trip to France.

"At this point, I consider Scot and Giovanna my very dear friends," Madame Harsa said. "French is truly the language of love!"

Scot and Giovanna both recently retired and now live in Glen Ellyn. Kevin and his wife have a 14-month-old daughter.

“One of the great things about St. Francis is it gives everyone an opportunity to participate,” Scot said. "You don't always get that at the larger public schools."

Giovanna added, “It’s a family-oriented community, especially with the teachers – they take their time to get to know you as a student, and a person, and that goes a long for an adolescent.”

Thank you to the Farmers for sharing your story with us!