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Celebrating 65 Years of Marriage
“We’ve trusted the Lord and He’s been very faithful so we can’t complain too much.” That’s how Donald Seip sums up his life-long relationship with his wife Sarah. The Seips grew up in the same small town and recently celebrated their 65th anniversary. In honor of this remarkable occasion, The Life Financial Group’s Mark Magruder and Adam Dieffenbach conducted a short interview with the couple. They now have ten grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. The Seips have known each other their whole lives, and Sarah used to walk all the way across town just to meet Donald as he delivered the newspaper to her grandparents’ house! It was a real joy to hear their story, and to hear how them answer in unison, or fill in and correct the details for each other. Here are some of the highlights from our interview:
MM: What’s the story with the boy who used to deliver newspapers? Tell us a little bit about how you met.
SS: We met in town. It was a small town, just 2000 people. We went to the same school; different churches, but the same school. And you knew almost everybody.
MM: How old were you when you were delivering the newspapers to Sarah’s family? DS: I guess I was about 12.
SS: No, you were older than that, about 16.
DS: About 16, I guess. I was passing papers in town for quite a number of years.
SS: Well, I’d go to my Grandfather’s house, run up the back way, and I hid around the trees alongside the house and see him coming up the hill, and I’d just casually walk out to get the newspaper. I don’t think we even talked. My grandfather used to say “It’s good Donald is delivering the papers so we can see Sarah.”
MM: And did you do this on a daily basis, Sarah?
SS: Oh, I guess pretty well. And I stopped after my grandmother died and I moved to live with my aunt in Jersey City. So that was the end of my heartthrob.
MM: So then you were separated for a while?
SS: Right at the end, until he came back from the service, and I was vacationing at my grandfather’s house. I was in nurse’s training, and it was my first vacation, and we got together then.
DS: She came back to our town, which is Wiconisco, for a break, and she stayed with her uncle, who lived in her grandfather’s house.
AD: How long after that did you get married?
Both: Oh, not too long.
SS: It was love at first…glance.
DS: You can’t say love at first sight because we’d known each other for a number of years. But everything just seemed to fall into place when we met again. And I took her up to her uncle’s place…
SS: …In his beautiful Chevy.
DS: …In my new Chevy; I’d just come out of the service. And we started going together. We just seemed to hit it off.
SS: We weren’t separable. My uncle used to say to me that he’d never seen anybody set and take their hair down as much as I did. I’d set it, and then I knew Donald was coming, and I’d take it down, then we’d go out in the afternoon, to Harrisburg or someplace, and come back, and I’d set my hair again.
MM: Did you stay in touch while you were apart?
DS: No, I didn’t even see her. I was up in Newark with my ship, while it was being commissioned, and she lived in Jersey City, which is not too far away. We could have seen one another, but I didn’t even know where she was.
SS: Donald was always a nice boy, and young man. He was clean, and he was kind to people. And I guess I liked him for that reason. And he was handsome.
AD: Now that you’ve been married for 65 years, what would you say to people who are thinking about getting married now?
DS: Well I think my contribution would be that when you get married, you’re making a commitment, and I hate to be redundant, but you have to be committed to it, to the marriage. I don’t think there was ever a moment when Sarah and I ever thought of anything but being together and getting married and raising a family. …And I think we’ve proven that over the years, that as far as togetherness is concerned, it’s our middle name. We’re even accused of going to doctors together…
SS: Our dentist said “Can’t you ever come alone?” I have to tell you, the most important thing to me is respect for each other. And when my daughter was getting married, I told her that that puppy love can end, but when you have respect that deepens your love for each other.
MM: Well you’ve had a wonderful life together and it’s wonderful that you still give God the glory.
DS: One of the things we did when we got married, was that we just committed ourselves to the Lord and trusted Him, and all these years that we’ve been married we’ve never been in want. We never had a need for food on the table or any serious calamities or anything like that. The Lord saw us through all the way and so we’re counting on that for the continuing number of years we have.
SS: And our altar is the side of our bed. And whenever there’s a problem or other people need prayer that’s where we go.
DS: We’ve trusted the Lord and He’s been very faithful so we can’t complain too much.
We’d love to hear your story, too! If you’ve recently celebrated a major anniversary, or any other important life event, please share your news with your advisor, and we may feature you in our next Client Spotlight article.
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