Back to school, where love blossomed
Not many couples can say they’ve been happily married for 40 years. But for Pierre Gougeon and his wife, Marlyne Beauvais- Gougeon, it’s easy.
Pierre, 62, surprised his wife, Marlyne, 60, with a trip down memory lane at Algonquin College to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on Saturday night.
“It’s where we met,” said Pierre. “It’s like closing the loop.”
Marlyne had no idea what her husband had in store for her.
“I was so surprised,” she said. “But my husband is that kind of guy, he likes to surprise me. I never know what he’s going to do next.”
As the couple passed the westend Ikea on their way to the college, Marlyne asked Pierre if he was taking her out for a cheap supper at the Scandinavian furniture store.
“That’s what we could afford 40 years ago,” she laughed.
The couple met at a dance held in the Algonquin College cafeteria in 1974; two years later, they were married.
“I remember after the dance when he brought me home he kissed me,” Marlyne said. “And he looked at me and he said, ‘You know what? I’m going to marry you one day.’
“I looked at him and I got up out the car and I said, ‘Oh my God, what a guy.’ ”
Neither can recall what the theme of the dance was 42 years ago, but they point to that moment where everything changed. Pierre proposed to Marlyne over a Boston cream pie only a couple of months later.
“He was so cute,” Marlyne said. “He’s still cute, with his brown eyes.”
Their appreciation for one another after four decades of marriage is hard to miss. Pierre, who shares his birthday with their wedding day, said the greatest gift of all was marrying Marlyne; the second was getting two cakes that year.
“He’s still talking about those two cakes!” Marlyne said, laughing.
The couple toured their old stomping grounds before they enjoyed a complimentary meal at Algonquin’s on-campus restaurant, Restaurant International.
“It was a wonderful meal,” Pierre said.
“It brought back a lot of memories,” he said. “Things have changed quite a bit, but some of the original buildings where we used to go were still there. It was really nice.”
Pierre studied business administration, and Marlyne early childhood education when they attended Algonquin in the ’70s.
Pierre, who came from Timmins to study, graduated a year earlier than his soon-to-be wife, who came from Notre-Dame-duNord, a small town in western Quebec. The pair waited to be married until Marlyne had completed her studies.
After graduation, Pierre worked in finance and banking, and Marlyne went back to earn two more degrees to become a teacher. The couple moved 14 times, after finishing school at Algonquin, before settling back 16 years ago in Ottawa, the city where their love blossomed.
“It wasn’t easy all the time, but we’re happy we went through every problem we had,” Marlyne said. “I think it’s because we love each other.”
Even after celebrating their latest milestone, they were already thinking about the next.
“I don’t know if we’ll be back (to Algonquin College) for the next 40,” chimed in Marlyne from across the room.
“We’ll probably be in our walkers by then,” Pierre said with a laugh.