San Bernardino, CA – (IBWire.com Jan 30, 2012) - The 2012 state winners of the annual Longest Married Couple Project sponsored by Worldwide Marriage Encounter, the original faith based marriage enrichment program in this country, were announced today.
“The number of years many of these couples are married is just awesome,” explained Scott and Karen Seaborn, the United States Leadership Team for WWME. The Seaborns serve with Fr. Tom Griffith, SVD, as the U.S. Ecclesial Team.
“There were 256 nominations from 47 states,” the Seaborns explained, adding, “There are four couples married 78 years, many couples married 70 plus years and quite a few couples with 60 plus years of marriage. What a testament to having a commitment to a long marriage!”
The longest married couple in the United States, based
on the nominations submitted, is Wilbur and Theresa Faiss of Las Vegas,
NV. They are married 78 years having made their
marriage vows on April 14, 1933. The Seaborns will be traveling to the Faiss’ hometown on Feb. 11th to personally honor them at a special ceremony.
This year individual state winners will be recognized and honored by couples involved with Worldwide Marriage Encounter, all across the country, over the Valentine’s week and weekend.
Winners of the initial project, which was held last year, automatically became members of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter Longest Married Couple Project Alumni group. Couples cannot succeed themselves each year as either national or state winners, thus giving an opportunity to honor other longest married couples across the country.
The list of the 2012 state winners and their hometowns are as follows:
Alabama – Joseph & Louise GreyMobile AL 72 years
Arkansas – Roy & Vola EdgmonLowell AR 78 years
California – Primitivo & Mauricia Ballesteros Sunnyvale CA75 years
Colorado – Chuck & Inez Massana Pueblo CO 76 years
Connecticut – Charles & Dorothy Baldis Granby CT 65 years
Delaware – Valentino & Mary Nardo Wilmington DE 71 years
Florida – Ned & Martha Dickson Lake Placid FL 75 years
Georgia – Victor & Ellen Della-Giustina Augusta GA 66 years
Hawaii – Percy & Helen Chun KaimukiHI 74 years
Iowa – Ray & Margaret Kuethe Sumner IA 76 years
Idaho – LeRoy & Frances EllwoodMeridian ID 71 years
Illinois – Dale & Doris Chatfield Chicago IL 73 years
Indiana – Jack & Thelma Flory New Haven IN 69 years
Kansas – Gilbert & Barbara Knipp Scott City KS 72 years
Kentucky – Bob & Agnes Schneider Lexington KY 75 years
Louisiana – Charles & Nelda Bernard Lafayette LA 70 years
Massachusetts – Malcolm & Ellen Brown Westminster MA 70 years
Maryland – Joseph & Stella Sheleheda Solomons MD 73 years
Maine – Norm & Joan Putnam Bryant Pond ME 63 years
Michigan – Joseph & Margory Zelesky Flat Rock MI70 years
Minnesota – Pinky & Maree Skorich Marble MN 74 years
Missouri – Bob & Shirley Hill Arnold MO 62 years
Mississippi – Thomas E. & Helen B. Haffey Lexington MS 71 years
Montana – Ben & Betty Hanson Miles CityMT 69 years
North Carolina – Carl & Cyndi Whaley Richlands NC 76 years
North Dakota – Earl & Elizabeth Hanson Cooperstown ND 71 years
Nebraska - Harold & Iola (Ole) Meierhenry Fremont NE 78 years
New Hampshire – Vincent & Ruth Trainor Milton NH 76 years
New Jersey – Emil & Carol Tiusty Wallington NJ 65 years
New Mexico – Zack & Eloisa Montoya Albuquerque NM 73 years
New York – John & Victoria Frontera West Seneca NY 72 years
Ohio – Earl and Maxine Martin Vienna OH 71 years
Oklahoma – Andrew & Grace Stagner Hinton OK 63 years
Oregon – Erman& Erma Johnston Albany, OR 78 years
Pennsylvania – Paul & Martha Shannon New Castle PA 72 years
Rhode Island – Philip & Norma Monte Narragansett RI 66 years
South Carolina – A.J. & Margaret Lewis Columbia SC 69 years
South Dakota – Durwood & Arlene Bouzek Hot Springs SD 64 years
Tennessee – Bernard & Doris Green Crossville TN 68 years
Texas – Ted & Marie Keller Amarillo TX 73 years
Washington – John & Hilda Phillips Deer Park WA 70 years
Wisconsin – Joseph & Rosemary Grout Madison WI 73 years
West Virginia – Vinton & Juanita Marshall Bluefield WV 70 years
Wyoming – Paul and Vivian Smith Big Piney WY 73 years
Worldwide Marriage Encounter has been offering weekend experiences for over 42 years and
is considered the original faith-based marriage enrichment
program. The programs are continually updated to keep abreast of
changes in society, and WWME now offers evening and half-day programs
that are presented at parishes and other church facilities. The weekend
program, traditionally presented as an overnight experience at a hotel
or retreat center, can also be presented at the parish where the couples
return to their homes in the evenings. WWME has a presence in over 90
countries, which makes it the largest pro-marriage movement in the
world. In North America, the WWME programs are presented in English,
Spanish, French, and Korean languages.
Worldwide Marriage
Encounter offers married couples the opportunity to spend time together
away from the busyness of the world to focus on each other. It offers
tools for building and maintaining a strong, Christian marriage in
today’s world. To learn more about the Worldwide Marriage Encounter
weekends online, go to wwme.org , or you can call 1-800-795-LOVE
(English) and 1-800-599-AMOR (Spanish), or contact the WWME Office at (909)
863-9963.
Media inquires should be directed to:
Dick& Diane Baumbach
(321) 544-3440 dickanddiane66@bellsouth.net
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