‘OUR ROAD WAS LONG’
Two Md. couples celebrate 70th, 80th wedding anniversaries
Just 0.1% of all marriages last 70 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Two couples in that exclusive club live in the Baltimore area. Willie and Geraldine Chambers of Essex and Stephan and Tamara Tymkiw of Millersville marked marriage milestones late last month, the former celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary and the latter their 70th.
So what is the secret to a successful union? The couples say it’s a combination of shared values, mutual respect, a little bit of faith and a lot of laughter.
“Words just aren’t enough”:
Willie, 99, and Geraldine, 98, celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary in front of a crowd in downtown Baltimore on Jan. 28 — the date of their wedding anniversary.
The couple and about 60 guests gathered at Greater Liberty Baptist Church to mark their oak anniversary.
They arrived fashionably late, dressed in their Sunday best, with Geraldine sporting a blue dress, her favorite color. Clapping and cheering burst through the air as they made their way down the church aisle.
The joyous occasion was thanks to their daughters, Sonda Staples, 79, and Rochelle Massey, 59. The sisters planned the event, which was as meaningful to them as it was for their parents.
“I’m still tearing up because words just aren’t enough. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t believe it,” Massey said. “I’m very overwhelmed seeing the people who are here come and show their respect.”
People lined up to congratulate Willie and Geraldine. There were prayers, songs and impromptu speeches from the sisters and their parents before festivities ended with lunch at the church.
“Capital-G-O-D,” Willie said of the secret to living and being married for a lifetime. A woman shouted, “Amen!” and the crowd erupted into applause.
“I feel like I’m on cloud nine,” he told the crowd. Geraldine, who sat beside her husband, said, “I’m feeling quite well, and I’m really elated.”
The pair met in church when they were children and went to school together in North Carolina. Geraldine never paid much attention to Willie until high school, when he mustered the courage to court her, he said.
One of the biggest hurdles in their relationship was eloping and moving to Baltimore, they said. The newlyweds knew no one and had to start from scratch in a new city, but over time, God
helped them build a family in Baltimore, the couple said.
Beating the numbers:
Willie and Geraldine’s marriage is close to the longest marriage on record in America.
A North Carolina couple, Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher, had been married for 86 years and 290 days as of Feb. 27, 2011, according to the Guinness World Records.
The median duration of marriages in Maryland is just shy of 20 years over the past 10 years, according the census.
But marriage and divorce rates have both declined in the U.S. through the years, Maryland included, according to the National Vital Statistics System. From 2000 to 2021, the number of marriages and divorces
declined gradually, despite population growth.
Ukraine to Maryland:
Stephan, 98, and Tamara, 92, Tymkiw were forced to leave their homeland of Ukraine during World War II. Cupid crossed their paths in Munich, while the two were still in school.
They got engaged before immigrating to North America, where Tamara landed in Toronto in 1951 and Stephan in New York, daughter Barbara Tymkiw said.
Despite the distance, the couple was determined not to break up and relied on letters to stay in touch, Barbara said. They eventually reunited and tied the knot Jan. 24, 1953, in Toronto.
The Tymkiws then moved to Salisbury, where Stephan took a pathologist position at a hospital. This year marks their platinum anniversary, which they celebrated with family at a restaurant.
“Our road was long,” Stephan said. When asked whether he believed Tamara was his soul mate, he looked at her and said with a nonchalant shrug, “Sure.”
“I think it’s his good humor,” Tamara said of her favorite thing about Stephan. “He was always kidding.”
Mutual respect, shared values and compromise have kept them inseparable for these decades, they said.
Family matters: Both couples live independently and have strong ties with their children, who visit their parents almost every day.
“We take it day by day. We go with whatever flow they’re in,” Staples said about Willie and Geraldine. “I don’t know anybody my age who still has both their parents.”
The Essex couple have six grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren. Their daughters said taking care of their parents is a priority.
“Even at my age, 99, I’m a little excited to get this kind of attention, and God made it possible. So I feel great,” Willie said.
The Tymkiws have four daughters and three grandkids, and raised their children to be bilingual and proud of their Ukrainian heritage, they said.
“Ukrainians celebrate special occasions with the song ‘Mnohaya Lita,’ which means many more years,” daughter Barbara said. “We look forward to much more singing in the future together.”