Herbert Lorfils and Leslie Lattimore-Lorfils — a Maryland couple — will be celebrating retirement after collectively serving more than 60 years in the U.S. Army.
But, not only do they have an extensive military resume, they also raised 12 children.
The pair first met during Army training in Texas in the 1990s. After only eight weeks of dating, they married.
“We just clicked well,” Lorfils said. “I believe when I saw her, she was gonna be my wife.”
Time for their children
What started as a family of two has become a family of 14. Their oldest child is 30 years old, while their youngest is 6 years old.
Some of their children have even followed in their footsteps by enlisting in the military.
“I didn’t envision having a dozen children, but I wouldn’t change it,” Lattimore-Lorfils said. “No one was a surprise.”
Long-deserved retirement
On paper, Lorfils retired from the Army in November, but the two are jointly celebrating retirement on Friday.
Lorfils served for 34 years, mostly as a medical logistics officer. In that role, he ensured Army hospitals were medically prepared. Lattimore-Lorfils, meanwhile, just clocked in 27 years this month. Her career has mostly been as a human resources officer.
Both also had been deployed multiple times to countries in the Middle East and Eastern Asia. Sometimes when that happened, one parent would be left alone to care for the children at home in Maryland.
The couple agrees, it takes a village, with help from their loved ones, that they’ve been able to keep their family strong.
“There’s no way in God’s Earth that we could serve our country honorably and not have a village that’s picking us up, helping us with our babies,” Lorfils said.
Opening a new book
Lattimore-Lorfils describes retirement as her and her husband’s next book, as opposed to their next chapter.
She said they will have more time for their business ventures, which include her organization “Girl Organize that Life” (girlorganizethatlife.com), which empowers women.
But, they will also have more time for their children.
“Being able to fly to a football game in person, instead of just watching our son on TV, we can be there in the stands screaming,” Lattimore-Lorfils said. “When our 10-year-old [says], ‘Mom, can we have a spa day?’ [I can say] sure, let’s go have a spa day.'”
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