TULSA, Okla. — For this Valentine's Day, we wanted to go to the experts. Over at Montereau in Tulsa, five couples have been married for over 50 years.
From the story of how they met to what it really takes to make a marriage last, here are their stories:
Nancy & Lloyd
"I thought he was kind of full of himself," says Nancy Zelewski. Her husband, Lloyd, laughs.
Nancy recalls a time when it came time to a vice dance and how she told her mother there was no one she wanted to ask.
"She said, 'what about that nice Lloyd?'" Nancy remembers.
Lloyd showed up in a tuxedo and that's when Nancy's opinion about him changed.
"He was full of himself, but there was a good reason for it!" says Nancy, as she and Llloyd laugh. "He was marvelous."
Lloyd says their relationship is "just everything." He advises other couples to develop a friendship because that gives you a "basis for a future life."
Carolyn & Jack
"I met Jack at a hamburger place that everyone used to hang out," says Carolyn Teague about meeting her husband. "I can remember he was in jeans and a white t-shirt and cigarettes rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve."
Carolyn says they later met again in the summer before Jack was shipped overseas for his time in the Army.
She recalls how sometimes she wouldn't hear from him for weeks, then she would get 10 letters all at once. They were numbered so they both could know which order to read them in.
"It wasn't that hard for me to make a commitment to her," says Jack. "She was everything I was looking for."
Jack confirms that she still is everything he was looking for. He would tell other couples to never forget about the commitment they made to each other.
Arnold & Pat
"The first day in class, which was an English class, they seated me beside this babe," says Arnold Brown referring to his wife Pat.
He remembers how he was asked to diagram a sentence, but instead drew a big dinosaur that went from one edge of the chalkboard to the other.
Arnold says the teacher asked if Miss Bell could come up and teach him how to do it, which Pat did. They haven't stopped laughing together since.
"I just couldn't do it without her," says Arnold. Pat agrees and says that Arnold is a joy, her best friend for life.
What would advice would they give other couples?
"To not take yourself too seriously," says Pat. "Just enjoy being together."
Ginny & Chuck
"So I saw him first in his brown suit," says Ginny Scott.
Ginny says she felt a "bit of a tingle" when she met her husband Chuck.
"I didn't know what was going to happen, when, where, or why, but I was along for the ride," continues Ginny.
Ginny and Chuck got to really know each other at a bridge lesson session.
"We didn't pay any attention to it," says Chuck. "We just talked to each other and I knew then that it was going to go somewhere."
Ginny says the reason why they've lasted is simple - Chuck means the world to her. Chuck, of course, says the feeling is mutual.
His advice to a long-lasting marriage? Never forget to put down the toilet seat.
Connie & Donald
"We grew up in rural Kansas so we both actually met at Kansas State University," says Connie Wertz with her husband Donald.
Connie says they both were sophomores and dated for about a year. Not too long after, they were married.
"Best time of our lives," Connie confirms.
Neither Connie nor Donald had much at the time, but it didn't matter to them. Connie gives a lot of credit to their spiritual gifts for making it work.
"She's very, very good," says Donald as Connie laughs.
Connie would tell other couples that it's about everyday life and how both people can contribute to each other's life.
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