Hartland Grad Works Under the Waves

Ruth (Watkins) Remsing's husband Matt is away from home for a month at a time — but it's not on the road — he's 500 feet underwater.

“No TV, no radio, no nothing,” says Ruth, a 1995 graduate who now lives in northeast Texas with Matt and their two daughters Cassandra and Neta. “I do get letters from him (that) he sends (up) to the guys on the boat. They scan his letters and send them to me as email.”

Matt, who graduated from Hartland in 1990, works in the Gulf of Mexico as a deep sea diver for Cal Dive International. He shares a tiny space with three co-workers, and is pretty much cut off from the world. Work they do includes tending the oil pipelines on the sea floor.

“When Hurricane Katrina and Rita came through the storm did a lot of damage on the gulf floor, so the oil pipe lines were moved from their original spot. (Matt’s job was to) move them back (into place).”

According to Ruth, Matt has had numerous encounters with different sea animals while on the job.

“There was another time when a really big grouper came up and looked at him and scared the tar out of him," she said. "Matt would pet it and it would swim away and then come back for more petting.”

Love at first sight

Ruth, 34, met Matt after moving away and returning from the area. After graduating from Hartland, she earned a associate degree in computer networking from ITT-Tech and moved to Kansas where she worked at a Quaker Oats factory. She began working on the line, then moved up to a supervisor position. She lived in Kansas for three years before moving back to Michigan where she began working for Kroger’s in Brighton.

The moment came while she was working a shift at Kroger’s as a cashier.

“He had just gotten done with work and was still dirty. During this time, he was a forge welder,” she recalled, describing the moment as “love at first sight.” “I just fell hard for him. We started dating in late 1999 and were together for almost eight years on and off before we got married.”

Texas dream home

After the couple moved south and lived in Louisiana, they found the home they both wanted in northeast Texas.

“Matt fell in love with the 32 acres, and I fell in love with the house,” said Ruth, who is a stay-at-home mom.

The Remsings currently own 11 goats.

“Having animals and raising them was all Matt’s idea,” Ruth said. “I try not to get too attached to the goats, because we do sell them and some we do eat.”