Jubilarians celebrating golden anniversary offer advice to younger married couples

After the annual archdiocesan Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on Aug. 25, Jan and Charles Lauck of St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis make a “50” with their hands to indicate the number of years they’ve been married. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

Compiled by Natalie Hoefer

After the annual archdiocesan Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on Aug. 25, The Criterion spoke with several of the jubilarian couples about how they met, and their advice for younger married couples. Here are their responses.
 

• Eugene and Mary Bednarek, St. Thomas More Parish in Mooresville.

Eugene: “We met at her cousin’s wedding. I was the best man. When I saw her come in [the church], it was love at first sight. … What does it take for a marriage to last? L-O-V-E.”

Mary: “You have to forgive, and forget what happened during the day. And pray.”
 

• Charles “Chick” and Jan Lauck, St. Barnabas Parish, Indianapolis.

Chick: “I was with a group of guys who always went to Indiana Beach [in Monticello, Ind.] for the Fourth of July. She was there with some friends who happened to know me. We were down on the boardwalk, and someone asked me, ‘How do you pick up a girl around here?’ So I swung around, she was walking by, and I just picked her up around the waist. I saw her again that night at a party.” His advice to couples: “Keep the faith. Live the faith.”

Jan: “We didn’t always agree, and we still don’t. But two things we always agreed on was our faith and how to raise our [five] children, and those are pretty important things. … Marriage takes two forgiving people. [Forgiveness] has to be a constant in the relationship. Forgive, and then forge ahead.”
 

• Larry and Brenda Cummins, Prince of Peace Parish in Madison. The couple met through mutual friends at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

Larry: “You have to love and respect each other. We both had good examples of that in our parents. … When our kids got married, we’d give them a clock inscribed with [the advice], ‘Always take time for each other.’

Brenda: “Our faith is very important to us. It’s just like [Msgr. William F. Stumpf] said, it takes love and commitment and forgiveness. And it really helps to have the same belief in God.” †

 

Related story: Couples’ 50 years of marriage ‘is a most extraordinary witness’