The Oldest Couples to Get Married
It is never too late to get hitched with the man or woman of your dreams – if records being set by the oldest ‘newlyweds’ are anything to go by. Longer life expectancy and wider socializing opportunities in the developed societies have meant that seniors are not shying away from tying the knot in their seventies and eighties and sometimes even into the nineties. Here are some couples who decided to have a sunset wedding, much to the delight of family members and the media.
Lillian Hartley and Alan Marks
In March 2012, 95-year-old Lillian Hartley and 98-year-old Allan Marks got married and if Guinness Book of World Records confirms their ages, the Californian couple will officially earn the title of world's oldest newlyweds1. Hartley and Marks tied the knot after dating for eighteen long years and even living together. The two first met in Palm Springs, California in 1994 when Hartley was a widow and Marks, a widower. At the time Hartley was a retired paralegal from Boston while Marks was a retired from Brooklyn. The two got talking apparently after Marks complimented Hartley on her dress. Soon they began dating, and enjoy watching Los Angeles Lakers games and traveling to Cancun, Mexico. They eventually moved in together but never got around to getting married as they preferred to spend their time travelling. Eventually though, Hartley and Marks decided to get officially hitched in a civil ceremony at the Riverside County Clerk's office on Feb 29, 2012.
Rose Pollard and Forrest Lunsway
The current holders of the record for the world’s oldest newlywed couple though belongs to Rose Pollard and Forrest Lunway who got hitched on the groom’s hundredth birthday in June 2011. Once again, the lucky sunset couple belongs to the sunshine state of California, where they spent nearly 30 years together as an exclusive couple before deciding to get hitched in a ceremony officiated by Pastor Sam Lewis. At the time of the wedding, Rose was 90 and the groom had just turned 100. The event was widely covered in the media with congratulatory notes pouring in from all over the world. Even President Barack Obama sent one, along with a birthday card for the groom.
Rose and Forrest met on a blind date at a senior center dance back in the early 1980s. At the time Rose was a widow, while Forrest was a widower. They danced the night away and became an exclusive couple almost immediately. But Rose kept holding off marriage in memory of her deceased husband with whom she had had a happy marriage. Rose had apparently joked to Forrester that she would marry him on his 100th birthday so when he popped the question before reaching the landmark, Rose could no longer refuse2.
The pair attribute the longevity – their own as well as that of their relationship - to their active lifestyles. During the three decades that they dated each other, they spent going on adventures and enjoying life. They hiked the whole coast of California, kayaked in Alaska and found places to go ballroom dancing multiple nights a week.
Madeleine Francineau and Francois Fernandez
In 2002, 96-year-old Frenchman Francois Fernandez married his 95-year-old fiancée Madeleine Francineau to enter the record books as the world's oldest newly-weds, at the time. The simple civil ceremony took place at the Romarins rest home in Clapiers, 20 kilometres from Montpellier, where the two lived, and many of the home's 95 residents were in attendance.
The two had met way back in 1997 when Fernandez was a widower while Madeline was a divorcee with both living in the same senior citizen’s home. According to the groom, he fell in love with Francineau when after helping her use a garlic press and "In return I asked for a kiss," he said3.
The home's director, Michel Aimonetti, revealed to the media on occasion of the wedding that the newlyweds would continue to sleep in their own rooms after being married, but for their comfort they had been moved to the same floor.
Roland Davis and Lena Henderson
This couple to get hitched in their late eighties is slightly different from the above – it will be the second time they are getting married to each other. Lena Henderson and Roland Davis got married the first time while still in their teens – after 20 years and four children, the two went their separate ways. However nearly a half-century apart, they have come to realize that they are meant to be with each other and planned to remarry each other on August 4, 20124. While the first time round, Henderson and Davis were married by a justice of the peace and could not afford a reception or honeymoon, this time the family had planned a big church wedding is planned, at Elim Christian Fellowship Church in Buffalo, followed by a reception at an Amherst restaurant.
The two got back in touch 48 years after the divorce when Davis moved to suburban Buffalo from Colorado, where he was living alone following the death of his second wife in January. Henderson also was widowed after re-marrying. Apparently Davis proposed to Henderson over the phone around Easter and she accepted, even though they hadn’t seen each other since a family funeral in 1996. The couple admits that their children and grandchildren were an important support in helping them to get back together.
References:
- Log in to post comments
