Valentine Work Buddies
Setting up shop with a spouse is next-level matrimony. These couples are coach and athlete to each other, entrepreneurs and engineers, creators and visionaries. And through it all they’re innovating in the lab of marriage at the same time. Here they share drops of wisdom: how to balance it all through communication, sacrifice, hard work, accountability, playfulness and laughter.
Carolyn and Ashley Cozine
Taking a Legacy Family Business to the Future
Written by Paige Feikert
Finding a partner to support the legacy of a family business can be a challenge in itself. Particularly a business as unconventional as memorial services, requiring care for others and often demanding long, irregular schedules — but Carolyn Cozine didn’t shy away.
“My time is not my own at all, and that’s tough when you have a family,” said Ashley Cozine, Carolyn’s husband. “I’m blessed that she is very supportive, and she always has been, which has led to a strong marriage.”
Carolyn and Ashley Cozine operate Cozine Memorial Group, a company that has provided funeral and memorial services in Wichita for decades. Ashley is the third generation to own and operate the business, and Carolyn joined the team a few years ago with the addition of the Cozine Life Events Center — a venue that the Cozines designed to celebrate any life event.
“I love being able to get her opinion, and I love taking care of families and having [Carolyn] extend that care to them as well. When people say, ‘Thank you both for taking care of our family,’ that to me is super rewarding, and to share it with Carolyn and to know it is a family effort is really special,” Ashley said.
For the Cozines, working together has brought a better understanding of one another, and ultimately has strengthened their marriage.
“Some people joke and say, ‘I would never work with my spouse,’ and I think that’s true if you jumped in and didn’t understand what they did. But I’d say it takes your relationship to the next level, and I think it’s made ours better,” Carolyn said.
“I can’t imagine not working with Carolyn. I love it,” Ashley added.
Working together has provided the Cozines an opportunity to watch each other lean into their strengths and grow meaningful relationships in the Wichita community.
“Something I’ve always appreciated about Ashley is that he’s an entrepreneur and a visionary. He’s had ideas about things that are beyond his time or futuristic in a way,” Carolyn said. “He has the gift of being creative and finding the next idea that could be helpful to people.”
The Cozines are looking ahead to what upcoming generations will bring to the company, since they hope their children grow a similar passion for what they do at Cozine Memorial Group. Their oldest son, Hillard, graduated from Kansas State University in May 2022, and joined them in Wichita, making it a four-generation family business. He brings a fresh set of perspectives, skills and ideas, which inspires both Ashley and Carolyn.
“Having a new generation join the business is taking the privilege of serving families to a whole new level,” Ashley said.
For more information about Cozine Memorial Group go to
cozine.com.
Timirie and Patrick Shibley
Marriage From Scratch
Written by Paige Feikert
Some say the first few years of a marriage are the toughest, but that certainly didn’t deter Timirie and Patrick Shibley from opening one of Wichita’s most iconic restaurants, Doo-Dah Diner, just a year-and-a-half into their marriage.
“We opened our diner at the time normal couples have their first child,” Timirie said. “This diner has very much been like our baby and it’s very much run like a family.”
The Shibleys opened Doo-Dah Diner more than a decade ago in a dramatic way. Patrick found an ad on Craigslist listing a restaurant for sale in downtown Wichita, so the couple checked it out. Roughly 30 days later, Doo-Dah Diner was officially born. With experience in the restaurant industry, Patrick took care of the back of the house, overseeing the sourcing, preparing and cooking of food, while Timirie took the lead on everything else.
“No, we weren’t dreaming about opening our own restaurant — I was just trying to make [Patrick] happy by going to look at it,” Timirie said. “We had no business plan, we had no real investors, we had no company credit card, we got our dishes from Goodwill and garage sales. Through a lot of blood, sweat and tears we opened up.”
The couple started writing the menu just three days before opening, and much of the menu remains the same today. The made-from-scratch dishes are a draw for people across the country: from Harrison Ford to the ESPN GameDay crew, the diner has served as a must-stop for visitors and regulars alike.
“The concept — I didn’t realize it at the time, how much we do from scratch — really became a niche,” Timirie said. “We are the real from-scratch. We take from-scratch to a new level.”
Perhaps a concept so closely resembling the couple who brought it to life is what has magnetized celebrity status for Doo-Dah Diner. The definition on the staff’s shirts describes Doo-Dah as a nickname for Wichita, referencing its laid back and whimsical atmosphere — something Patrick and Timirie also use to describe themselves.
“Our concept then was whimsical and laid back. We aren’t perfect, we aren’t fancy, we use ‘Yeah, we’re totally Doo-Dah’ as a playful, not structured, completely-opposite-of-corporate environment that feels like home,” Timirie said. “It’s a nickname for our hometown.”
The Shibleys have found the secret to success for both running a business and maintaining a happy marriage — laughter.
“I think the key to anybody’s success, especially in our marriage and our business together, would be just a lot of laughter. Making sure laughter gets in there because it drowns out so many issues,” Patrick said.
“Whimsical and laid-back is in our business definition, so we have to have laughter,” Timirie added.
And now the Shibleys are facing something new: a cancer diagnosis for Patrick, something the couple says they’re taking on as a team.
“The diner is running really well with us in an advisory role, so we can focus on Patrick’s healing,” Timirie said. “We are still working together, but our priority is getting him healthy. It’s a journey we’re doing together.”
For Doo-Dah Diner menu and hours, go to
doodahdiner.com.
Sam and Dan Stull
Marriage Muscles
Written by Paige Feikert
The sport of bodybuilding is known to require sacrifices, discipline, hard work and accountability, much like a healthy marriage — and one couple is proof.
Dan Stull is the owner of Team Icon, a bodybuilding and lifestyle coaching company, and is a professional bodybuilder himself. His wife, Sam, works with Team Icon as a stage presence and posing coach, and is also coached by Dan on the amateur level.
When it comes to working together with the athletes at Team Icon, Dan and Sam know their strengths. Dan has been bodybuilding for more than a decade, he handles the training, while Sam has taken to the stage presence. She helps athletes with everything stage presence, from their makeup and tanning to perfecting their posing to best represent their physique on stage.
“We have really good communication in our marriage in general, so I think that translates well into our working relationship,” Sam said.
Their compatibility is also important when Dan and Sam work together as coach and athlete. In his role as a coach, Dan holds Sam accountable, but in his role as a husband, he makes those moments a little easier.
“On days that she doesn’t want to go to the gym and I’ve already worked out, I’ll still go with her,” Dan said. “It’s a huge advantage for both of us, working toward that and being under the same roof.”
But training for a bodybuilding competition requires focused dedication, both in the gym and out of it. Diet is a major component of sculpting a bodybuilder’s physique; after weeks of a restricted diet, and no place for a secret cheat meal, patience can grow thin.
“I respect him and his expertise. I wouldn’t have him as a coach if I didn't think he could lead me in the right direction to win — but in the moment when you’ve been prepping for 17-plus weeks and all you want is a cheeseburger, and he [your coach] says ‘You’re not doing that,’ then the claws are coming out,” Sam said.
Through their own training and working together with Team Icon, Sam and Dan have found a harmony between coach and athlete, husband and wife.
“When we put [coaching and training] away, we can go back to being husband and wife and protecting the romance,” Dan said. “I want to be there as her support and her rock, and sometimes you’ve got to put away the coaching hat for that.”
Working and living together have taught Sam and Dan to give each other grace, have uncomfortable conversations early, don’t keep score, and above all, always have fun.
“None of the tests feel like more than we can handle together,” Dan said. “Have fun, don’t stop playing, don’t lose your sense of childlike play, because if you lose that, I feel like you miss out on a lot of experiences.”
Follow Sam, Dan and Team Icon on Instagram.
Dan Stull — @itsbatdan_ifbbpro
Sam Stull — @sammstull
Team Icon — @coachedbyicon
Bobbi and Guy Barton
Two Smart Cookies
Written by Paige Feikert
Some couples would say living together, working together and sharing a short commute together every day would be a challenge, but Bobbi and Guy Barton, owners of Bobbi’s Cutters, aren’t one of those couples. In fact, the Bartons find running a business together on their property to be the perfect fit.
“It’s not for everybody, but it works so well for us, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Bobbi said. “Guy and I just get along great. We have breakfast together, and lunch together, and dinner together, and we’re together all day long and we don’t grow tired of each other.”
In a way, the business created itself. Bobbi was making and selling cookies at the time and needed a specific shape, that’s when she asked Guy to make her a cutter using his 3D printer. From there the demand grew. Bobbi was constantly taking requests for custom cookie cutters, so much so that she was balancing a full-time day job with the booming cookie cutter business during the evenings and weekends.
Eventually Bobbi quit her day job and focused full-time on her cookie cutter business. But as the number of 3D printers grew from one to three to ten and now up to more than 50, the couple faced a new dilemma.
“When you have that many printers there’s a lot of maintenance,” Guy said. “It just became a drain, because you’d work 40 hours a week and come home and work 20 to 30 hours a week; you just can’t do both.”
Five years after Bobbi began focusing full time on her business, Guy joined her.
“Financially we made the decision that we would be okay and we could work at our own business and be our own bosses, and it has worked well for us,” Bobbi said.
Bobbi is the artistic mind behind the company. She follows the latest trends, works with bakers who try out their new designs, and markets to customers. Meanwhile, Guy manages the technical side, maintaining the printers and taking care of any computer work.
“I’m technically challenged and Guy, that’s one of his strong suits. And he’s artistically challenged, and that’s one of my strong suits,” Bobbi said.
And while the Bartons recognize this type of working relationship wouldn’t be for everyone, they now can’t imagine a life without it.
“We’ve been married for almost 17 years and I will say this — when we met each other, I would label it as love at first sight for both of us,” Bobbi said.
Check out Bobbi’s Cutters at
bobbiscutters.com.
