Couple Who Met Just By Chance Share Secret to 80 Years of Happy Married Life: 'Put God First'
He was just walking with a group of "gals from out of town" but ended up walking with one of them to the altar—80 years ago.
On June 25, Donald and Vivian Hart, both 99 years old, celebrated eight decades of their blissful marriage at their assisted living facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ABC News reported.
The lifelong lovebirds are the longest-living married couple in Michigan, according to Inside Edition. They have three sons, four grandkids, 14 great-grandchildren, and 15-great-great grandkids.
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Donald recalled that fateful day in 1937 when his chance encounter with a group of girls after the Sunday morning church service led him to find the woman he would share the rest of his life with.
"We were just going to [walk] a little ways and then quit, but we ended up going all the way," he told Wood TV.
Donald said one of their favorite songs is "When Your Hair Has Turned to Silver" by Perry Como.
"Now we fulfilled the song we've been singing. It seems to have come so suddenly," he told ABC News, referring to the sentimental lyrics, "When your hair has turned to silver I will love you just the same."
"Is my hair silver now?" Vivian asked him while touching her hair.
While reminiscing their wedding day with their closest family and friends, the couple was asked the inevitable question: What's the secret to their successful marriage?
"Make sure the relationship is honest. Try to do what's right in God's eyes," said Donald, who served in the U.S. Air Force and was drafted in World War II. "It's good to laugh together. Have fun with each other, but don't make jokes at the expense of the other."
Vivian, a chalk artist and avid reader, also mentioned God as the key to their undying love and happiness. "Always be sure to put God first in your life," she said. "We have prayer every day together in the morning and the night. We don't keep our mind on our troubles."
Andi Ripley, the couple's 28-year-old great granddaughter, said she believes the secret to her great-grandparents' enduring relationship is forgiveness.
"They're really funny. They have an amazing sense of humor and I think that's one of the things that's kept them joyous through all their years together," she told Inside Edition.
"As in any relationship they have disagreements and squabbles, but they laugh it out, forgive one another and grandpa says they're stronger after each disagreement because they choose to love each other through it," she added.
