Couple celebrates 70th wedding anniversary
A married couple who met in the sixth grade celebrates their 70th anniversary with friends and family during Valentine’s Day week.
On Tuesday, two Morning Pointe residents were thrown a party to celebrate their 70th anniversary. Their children, siblings and relatives attended, bringing gifts for the couple and enjoying refreshments provided by family.
“We didn’t realize it would last this long,” Buddy Fowler, 89, said of his marriage to Agnes Fowler, 88. “But the first time I saw her I said I’m going to marry her.”
“You never told me that,” Agnes said with a smile when Buddy confessed to falling in love at first sight.
Buddy and Agnes met in the sixth grade at Subligna School when they were both pre-teens.
The two dated while Buddy was serving in the Air Force and on a weekend leave he came home with plans to get married to Agnes, who agreed. The young couple went to the home of their preacher on Feb. 12, 1949 and paid him $5 to wed them. Buddy was 19 and Agnes was 18 when they got married.
“I just knew I wanted to marry him, that’s what I wanted,” Agnes said when she was asked how she was sure of her decision to commit to Buddy.
And the reason Buddy and Agnes both commented that they weren’t expecting their marriage to last this long had nothing to do with their faith or loyalty to each other but rather with the average life span for people in 1949. Buddy said when they were married, the average person died around 60 years of age.
Yet, since reciting their vows, they’ve lived long enough to claim a 70th anniversary and to see their six-person family expand to include seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. The Fowlers have lived all over the world, including years raising their children in Belgium, Turkey and locations across the United States.
After his 1971 retirement from being an electrician technician in the Air Force, Buddy worked as a long distance truck driver for Mayflower Moving Company. Eventually Agnes also got her commercial driver’s license and the pair drove together as a team for MMC. They traveled across the entire country during their time as drivers, visiting family, friends and old Air Force buddies.
COUPLE,
When asked about the secret to a long, happy marriage, the couple smiled at each other and responded by saying the trick was in the simple things.
“Just keep an interest in each other. Be kind and supportive,” Agnes said, adding on that respect was crucial. And Buddy’s answer didn’t steer far from his bride’s.
“Respect each other, love each other,” Buddy said. “I can’t recall us ever having a real disagreement, and it was because we respected each other.”
Buddy said while he knows many married couples “fuss all the time,” he and Agnes would just talk through everything and didn’t fight. And as hard to believe as that is for two people who’ve lived together for over half a century, one of their four children confirmed that detail.
“I cannot come up with a time in my head I ever heard them argue or get upset with each other,” their daughter Carla said. “They just always talked to each other and worked it out.”
Their only daughter also commented that her parents have always been in love and they’ve always been kindhearted and patient with one another. Through their perseverance and commitment, they made an example for the rest of the family to work through problems within their marriages instead of resorting to divorce, Carla said.
“I’ve always felt safe with them,” Carla said, tearing up as she watched her parents talk together during the celebration. “They’re so sweet, kind and loving. We moved a lot and they were always so supportive.”
The Fowler’s oldest son, Dale, said his parents set a wonderful example of not only a thriving marriage, but how to raise a family.
“They were great parents and we couldn’t have had a better life,” Dale said. “It is very unusual for couples to be married this long, and I’ve always been proud of them for that.”
Dale said among all his siblings, aunts and uncles, there have been nothing but long-term marriages. He said his parents led by example and have made a lasting impact on their relatives by their commitment to one another.