True Love!
John and Ann Betar of Fairfield, Conn., said “I do” on Nov. 25, 1932, and have been happily married for 80 years. Together they have five children, 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
The couple was selected for the 2013 award by Worldwide Marriage Encounter, based in San Bernardino, CA. An award ceremony will take place this month at the Fairfield, Conn., home of one of the Betars’ granddaughters, Heather Mitchell.
Though the couple is hesitant to give out marriage advice, their secret to so many happy years together is simple: compromise and don’t hold a grudge.
John, 101, met Ann, now 97, while growing up in the same Syrian community in Bridgeport, Conn. Breaking with tradition, Ann defied her parents when they set up an arranged marriage for her. She ran off to Harrison, N.Y. to elope with John. Now, she says she knows she made the right choice.
The Betars were chosen out of hundreds of couples nominated during the project’s submission period, which ran from October of last year to January. There may be other couples who have been married longer in the U.S., but none was formally nominated, according to the group.
As seen in Yahoo! News.
