By Mabel, January 28, 2019 — I met my husband in elementary school. We went to the same elementary, middle and high school growing up, but we didn’t start dating each other until high school. I graduated with 60 other students, so there weren’t that many of us. Years later when they finally knocked the school building down, my husband and I were so upset. I wanted to cry because there were so many memories in that building.
When we graduated high school, neither of us went to college and we married right away. He joined the service and fought in World War II. I stayed home and worked for a company that made bombs and hand grenades to be used in the war. I was also an inspector for the army. Whenever my husband came home, I quit my job so I could spend more time with him. I loved him very much and being apart was hard, especially during the war.
After serving for four years, he retired and came back home. When he came home, I stopped working for the army too. Then I started working for the city of Egg Harbor and retired after 26 years. After I retired, I volunteered at the hospital until I physically couldn’t do it anymore. I pushed patients around and kept them company.
Every few years my husband would have an army reunion in a different state, since so many people from around the United States served with him. It gave us an excuse to travel, and that is something that I really miss most. California was my favorite place that we went, if you ever get the chance you should visit.
When it came time for us to live in assistive care, I really wanted to move to a place that would allow married couples to live together. Once we got there, my husband started to get weaker. We lived there together for about one year before he passed away. I miss him very much. My husband and I were married for 70 years and together we have one son, and four grandkids. The secret to successful relationships is prayer, patience and partnership.
