Ex-treasurer celebrates her 72nd wedding anniversary
It all started with a dance.
The year was 1945, the location the former YMCA on State Street in Marion.
Fifteen-year-old Mary Ellen Hinamon and 17-year-old Norman Withrow were members of the Older Rural Youth Group. During an event, the group performed a Grand March, where Withrow asked Hinamon to be his partner.
A couple of weeks later, the two went on a movie date, and they've been together ever since.
On Friday, the Withrows will be celebrating a special milestone: their 72nd wedding anniversary. They got married Sept. 4, 1948, at Kirkpatrick Methodist Church in Marion.
According to a September 1948 article from the Marion Star, the ceremony took place at 2:30 p.m. and was officiated by the Rev. Arthur M. Bosler. Lighted candles and bouquets of white gladioli ferns decorated the altar of the church.
“The bride, given in marriage by her father, was attired in a street length dress of blond hammered satin fashioned with a draped skirt,” the article noted. “With this she combined bronze accessories. She carried a white Bible, a gift from her parents, which was topped with a purple orchid. Her jewelry was a gold choker, bracelet and earrings, gifts from the bridegroom.”
After getting married, the Marion residents built their lives together in a farmhouse raising their family. The Withrows have four daughters: Linda Rizzo, Leslie Legge, Norma Withrow and Rebecca Shafer.
Norman worked as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years, while Mary Ellen became a rising star in politics.
In 1969, she was elected to the Elgin Local Schools board of education, becoming the first woman elected to that body. Mary Ellen was then elected treasurer of Marion County twice, in 1976 and 1980. Next, she became treasurer of the State of Ohio on three occasions, in 1982, 1986 and 1990.
President Bill Clinton appointed Mary Ellen to serve as United States treasurer in 1994, and she remained in that role until 2001. She introduced the state quarters project during her term in office. Mary Ellen also supervised the redesign of the following bills: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. She is the only person to hold the position of treasurer at the local, state and federal levels of government.
While Mary Ellen’s career rose to the new heights, her husband was right by her side through it all.
“He was always really supportive when I went into politics,” she said. “He always said whatever I wanted to do with running for office, he was backing me.”
When Mary Ellen was appointed U.S. treasurer, the two moved to Bethesda, Maryland. Even after Mary Ellen retired, she and Norman stayed in the city for 10 more years. In 2011, the Withrows moved back to Marion to be closer to family.
Mary Ellen said one of the reasons why the marriage has lasted this long is because she and Norman each have their own interests and hobbies.
“He had his interests and I had mine,” she said.
After retiring from the Postal Service in 1986, Norman’s hobbies included farming, playing golf and collecting antique pocket watches.
The couple, who are now 92 and 89, enjoy leisure time at the Primrose Retirement Community of Marion. The Withrows celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary with a small gathering Saturday on the gazebo. Several family members were there, which has now expanded to seven grandchildren and soon-to-be eight great-grandchildren. Mary Ellen said she and Norman had a great time and that they will always have a “special bond.”
Norman was unable to talk to the Star due to health issues.
“I never thought we would last this long,” Mary Ellen said. “It’s kinda unusual to celebrate 72 years, at least it was in my estimation. I had a relative that was married 70 years and I was young at the time, and I thought, ‘My goodness, that is really something!’”