Longtime Couples Renew Wedding Vows At Retirement Home
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than 20 couples who have been married for decades said "yes" to more Friday.
At Roseville's Presbyterian Homes Johanna Shores facility, the couples gathered in a soothing chapel, where they were serenaded by music and given chocolate roses.
"Some of us have been married here 50 or 60, even 70-some years," Chaplain Mark Rydberg said.
On this Valentine's Day weekend, residents of Johanna Shores are showing the rest of us the true meaning of love.
"We've been around the block a time or two since those days of our first vows," Rydberg said.
Maxine and Neil Rathjen have been married for 64 years.
"To compromise and continue your love, even though you have those moments, and so it makes that stronger bind in the faith," Neil said.
Lois and Dutch Sauerbry have been wed for 67 years.
"I was sitting here crying and I thought, 'I don't think I cried 66 years ago!'" Lois said.
In a ceremony of renewal, the couples once again said their vows, understanding that love is much more than roses and romance.
For Mel and Marie Lynn, it is about sticking by your mate through the good times and the bad.
"I drug her all over the world because I was military, and she put up with all that," Mel said.
Once again, they uttered the simple words "I do," in the garden of life where weeds can get in the way.
"There's more good than there are weeds!" Maxine Rathjen said.
But in the end, the cake is just as sweet today as it was so many, many years ago.
One couple told us the secret to a long and loving relationship is always respecting your partner -- and never go to bed mad!