Couple Shares Secrets To A Happy Marriage After Celebrating 80th Wedding Anniversary

Can you imagine being married for decades? The concept of being married for this long is wild to most of us. It can be hard to make a relationship work for any length of time, let alone several decades.

Elton and Betty is one couple that is defying the odds with their love story. They met in high school and they have never been apart since. That’s impressive enough, but when you realize that these California natives first got to know one another back in 1939, things become even more interesting.

According to KGW News, Elton graduated from high school first and in 1942, he headed off to college. Unfortunately, World War II broke out and the young man had to put his studies on pause for the moment.

The war made the couple afraid to wait any longer to get married and in that same year, they decided to tie the knot.

It was not long before Elton was enlisted in the Army Air Corps pilot training program. He became an instructor for B-29 bombers after spending some time working with single-engine planes. Elton worked his way up to being a second lieutenant and was eventually stationed at the Pacific island of Tinian.

“It would have been terrible to be in the Army and moving around, and not have her with me,” he told the news station.

This is where it all began in earnest. “We had the war to start with,” Betty continued, “and that started us on out track.” She never left Elton’s side and they did not allow the war to tear them apart. Once the war was over, they raised three children together, as Betty stayed home to raise them while Elton got his own contracting business off the ground. She did work part-time occasionally.

In 1980, they retired and moved to Oregon. They eventually decided that they would rather return to California to be closer to their loved ones. As time went on, they made their way back to Oregon, where they reside today. Elton and Betty currently reside in Newberg, Oregon at Brookdale Senior Community.

At their 80th wedding anniversary, they shared their secrets. “There was a lot of communication going on in the background, that we never saw,” one of their daughters said in the interview. “Such a beautiful example for all of us.” Betty expanded on this as well. “Have a good foundation, keep your feet on the ground,” she shares. What a beautiful connection these two share!

If you would like to find out more about this touching love story, please be sure to check out the following video: