Monday, September 20, 2010

Married 70 YEARS!!

Mary Louise and Herbert E. Freeman Celebrate 70 Years of Love!
September 13th, 1940 - September 13th, 2010

Last week my husband and I made a visit to see his folks in northern Indiana and to help them celebrate their 70th Wedding Anniversary! We, along with Wayne's three cousins and their partners, (from Montana, Michigan and Indiana) threw an open house at a local restaurant (closed for regular business on Sunday). His Mom and Dad have lived in and near this small town, almost all their lives. Needless to say, a lot of people know them. Wayne put an announcement in the local paper and worked with the restaurant via phone and emails to set things up. The folks at the restaurant did a fantastic job of taking care of everything.







Because it was an open house, it was difficult getting a count of everyone who came. We did have a guest book, but not everyone signed it. Some folks stayed awhile, some stopped in just to say hello, some came with their whole family. There were a couple of old friends who came from as far as Ft. Wayne, IN. All in all, it was thought around 80 to 100 may have attended.

The Freeman family.
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The four of us.

Whether from a great distance or from right across the street, it was wonderful meeting all these friends, former business associates and customers, neighbors and family all together celebrating the love of my mother and father in-law. It was great spending time together. Their love and commitment to each other is beautiful.

I don't usually post personal things on my blog, but I wanted to share this. I think anyone who is able to not only stay together for 70 years but actually still enjoy one another's company and still express their love, that needs to be shared!

9 comments:

Claire Beadon Carnell said...

This sure made my day - thanks for sharing! Seventy Years of marriage is something to celebrate, and it looks like you all did so in style. Congratulations to your mother-in-law and father-in-law!

Gail Hayton said...

Wow, what a wonderful story. I thought when I hit 40 years that was something-new goal-70!!! Thanks for sharing this story. It sure lifted my spirits.

Mona Diane Conner said...

Wow Barbara! What a great couple and what a great occasion to celebrate! Congratulations Mary Louise and Herbert!

Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures that convey what a great day this was for them and for the whole family, plus what a gorgeous cake!

Jane said...

Barbara---This is just great---looked like a great day!!!!

Tracy Hall said...

Just wonderful Barbara, what a lovely occassion - and huge congratulations to them both!

Unknown said...

What a celebration...70yrs. Wonderful couple. Thank you for sharing the lovely photos. Best wishes to the happy couple. They look fabulous.

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Thank you all for your kind comments, I'll pass them along. It was a very happy and fun celebration for all of us. I just picked up photo prints to send to them.

I'm hoping to visit my folks soon. It's been far too long since I've been to see them, they live in Fl. I'm hoping to get my daughter to join us there. That would really be great! It's hard when we are all so far away! : (

Debra Keirce said...

70 years IS an inspiration! I used to live in Zionsville, IN - just north of Indianapolis, and with family in suburban Detroit, MI, we probably ate in that restaurant a few times on our road trips. What a lovely couple, and such character in their faces. Barbara, are you going to paint a portrait for them from those photos?

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Thanks Deb. Alas, I'm not one for portraits, but they would both be wonderful subjects. You may well have passed through their town at some point. The restaurant, however, had a former life as a hardware store.