Couples rededicate their lives to celebrate golden anniversaries
Date: 6/13/2014
By Carley Dangonacarley@thereminder.comWEST SPRINGFIELD – For 15 years, the
West Springfield Council on Aging (COA) celebrates couples married for 50 years or more with a rededication ceremony on June 6.
This year’s event honored 68 couples at the
Storrowton Tavern & Carriage House of the
Eastern States Exposition, with dinner, dancing and a rededication ceremony. According to COA Executive Director Laurie Cassidy, there are more than 100 long-time couples in town.
“I’m really excited [to be a part of the event],” Pastor John Marquis of Grace Lutheran Church,” said. “It’s a great thing for the [senior] center to honor the married couples.” This was the first time Marquis officiated the renewal of vows for the event.
Reminder Publications spoke with Jeremiah and Marie Donovan, a couple celebrating their 70th anniversary.
Originally from Springfield, the couple has lived in West Springfield for five years. They have six children, 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
“A woman dared me to take her to the movies,” Jeremiah Donovan, who’ll turn 91 in August, said. That woman was his wife Marie, who just celebrated her 91st birthday. They met while working for the same employer and married at 21.
When asked the secret to their longevity, Marie Donovan responded, “I’m easy-going.” She described her husband as “a pretty steady guy.”
Jeremiah answered the same question. Laughing, he said, “I made sure to tell Marie ‘You’re right, all the time.’”
The couple agreed that a sense of humor is necessary to have a successful marriage. They spent many of their time traveling across the United States and abroad, having visited Ireland, where Marie has family, many times.
When asked what his favorite quality is about Marie, Jeremiah said, “I like everything about her.”
