A love story that began 70 years ago

I wrote this column two years ago and shared it with readers of the Reading Eagle newspaper. Originally headlined “A love story that began 68 years ago,” all of it remains true today. We are blessed to celebrate my parents’ 70^thwedding anniversary on this day.

It’s impossible to fully understand what makes two people fall in love. It may begin with a physical attraction. It may be as simple as a kind word or a silent locking of eyes. Some might point to destiny or divine intervention. 

It happens all the time, and I’m glad it does. Especially for one love story that officially began 68 years ago today. 

That was a time before cellphones, color television sets in every home and the realistic thought of landing a man on the moon. The relationship has survived and flourished through all of those milestones and many others. 

The reasons are simple: devotion, commitment and love that grows every day. 

Soon after she graduated from high school, they were married in the Sunday school chapel of their church because the sanctuary was being renovated. They went on a brief honeymoon in a car they borrowed from her father. In the beginning, they struggled, but they had each other. 

She was a dark-haired beauty. He was tall and thin with a pompadour.

He had dropped out of school to join the service at the end of World War II, then returned home to finish high school. It was during that time in the Army that he learned a photography skill that would be with him for the rest of his life.

After they married, he began a career as a newspaper photographer and reporter, and she became a full- time homemaker. They bought their first house in the mid-1950s. A decade later, they built their dream house, a brick rancher where they still live.

He turned 89 recently; she is 86. They remain independent and in their own home, mostly because they are too stubborn to move. 

Through those years they welcomed three children, 10 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. 

There were many rough times, many obstacles, but they worked together. The love that would bind them together grew stronger with each challenge. 

“We had a lot of hard times, but we weathered it,” he says. 

“It wasn’t so bad,” she adds.

During those hard times they learned to appreciate what they had because they had worked so hard for it. There was little waste and limited extravagance, but they have shared a good life and have lots of memories.

In their retirement years – semi-retirement for him – they did some traveling together and grew even closer, including sharing the housework that for many years had fallen on her. Even now he seldom is seen without a camera, keeping busy with freelance work for several newspapers. Until recently, she always was sewing or knitting. 

Their calendar remains full, but many of their activities are doctor appointments. 

For all of their life together, they’ve been active in their church. It’s a shared faith that has given them direction and helped them to keep things in their lives in perspective. 

To reach 68 years of marriage, you must marry early in life and have good genes that lead to a long life. Her mother lived to 92, his to 102. 

They have grown old together, sharing the physical and memory challenges that come with aging. When they can’t remember a name or forget a word, they turn to each other for help. Sometimes the void frustrates both of them until much later when one of them blurts out the thought that had escaped them earlier. 

One of the difficulties of growing old is outliving most of your friends. At least they still have each other. They remain best friends. 

They’re not perfect, except perhaps in each other’s eyes. Isn’t that what’s important? 

When they celebrated their 50th anniversary, it was for a weekend with all of their children and grandchildren at cabins in a state park. For their 60th, they traveled to a bed- and-breakfast in Cape May with their children and their spouses. 

Today they likely will go to church, then lunch at a restaurant. Then perhaps the best part – a long afternoon nap. They have two years to rest before it’s time to celebrate their 70th. 

This special love story all began on June 25, 1949, and 32 ½ months later, I was born. 

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad.