MENLO PARK, Calif. – Martha Rose “Molly” Lassiter and Simon Hilpert were united in marriage August 31, 2013 at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, California. The Reverend Mr. Frank VanderZwan officiated the 10:30 a.m. ceremony.
The bride, 34, will keep her name. A 1997 graduate of Salisbury High School, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Davidson College and a Master degree in Financial Economics from the University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain. She is working toward a Ph.D. degree in Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The bride is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Raymond and Martha Lassiter of Salisbury and the goddaughter of Dr. and Mrs. Bobby and Betty Lomax of Salisbury. She is granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Mary Ruth Coble and the late Mr. and Mrs. Jacob and Mabel Lassiter, all of Burlington, North Carolina.
The groom, 31, graduated from the Johannes Kepler High School in Weil der Stadt, Germany, and earned Bachelor and Master degrees in Economics from the University of Mannheim, Germany. He will complete his Ph.D. in Economics at Stanford University in the spring of 2014 and has accepted an investment research position with BlackRock in San Francisco, California.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Otmar and Karin Hilpert of Heimsheim, Germany. He is the grandson of Mr. Martin Rockmann and the late Mrs. Lisa Rockmann of Pirmasens, Germany, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Eugen and Luise Hilpert of Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany.
The bride was escorted by her father. She was attended by her sister, Melissa Lassiter Petkova of Hillsborough, California, as matron of honor and her brother, John Raymond “Ran” Lassiter of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as gentleman of honor in absentia. Brothers of the groom Stephan Hilpert and Martin Hilpert stood as the groom’s best men. The bride’s beloved dogs Cooper and Isis served as ring bearer and flower girl.
Following the ceremony, the bride’s parents hosted a reception at the Four Seasons Hotel, Palo Alto, California.
The couple will make their home in Redwood City, California.