Couples married more than 60 years share their stories
Love is best defined as “an intense feeling of deep affection.” It’s safe to say after reading the stories of these three amazing couples, that they truly embody this definition wholeheartedly.
Charles and Theodora Boston, Dick and Jo Deal and Billy and Kay Regan were each nominated by readers as longtime Marion County couples worthy of emulation. They each did interviews leading up to Valentine’s Day and talked about their relationships and some of the keys to success:
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Charles and Theodora Boston have called Columbia home such 1963. After teaching and coaching at Bassfield High School for five years, the Bostons felt Columbia had more and better opportunities for them and their future family, as Theodora was a teacher as well. The Bostons history in education in Columbia is well-documented, but their love story starts several years before that.
“She had her eye on me since high school,” Mr. Boston humorously suggested. “I went to Laurel High School, and she attended Brookhaven High School and she saw me running circles around those boys at Brookhaven on the football field.”
A glance to Mrs. Boston saw her smiling from ear to ear before she formulated her response.
“I first noticed Charles at Alcorn State University, where we both attended college,” she replied, the couple adorned in their purple and gold ASU sweaters. “He was handsome and kind.”
“I would watch her come through the cafeteria, and there was something about how that little lady carried herself,” he said. “For both of us, it was truly love at first site!”
The best they can remember, their first date was at Oakland Chapel on the campus of Alcorn State University, where they saw a movie together. After that, the couple was inseparable!
A relationship usually doesn’t work if the parties in question don’t have a common bond. When asked what they both enjoyed most about each other, an answer came quickly.
“He’s completely understanding about everything,” she answered. “No matter the circumstances, he was understanding and thoughtful.”
“I have to say the same thing about her,” Mr. Boston answered. “She bears with me in everything. In our younger years, I was away a lot, and she held this house down perfectly, and raised our three amazing kids without ever complaining. I’m a huge outdoors person, and I love being in the woods hunting. She has never tried to keep me from my hobbies and me from hers.”
Meeting each other’s families for the first is usually a daunting task for a new couple, but for the Bostons it seemed to be easy, to an extent.
“My daddy died when I was quite young so I didn’t ever know him. My momma was a strong, independent person and even though she was protective of me, she knew Charles was the right one for me,” Mrs. Boston answered.
“Where my parents were concerned, if she was alright for me, she was alright for them! But, we did do the marriage thing a little different than most couples. My sister lived in New York City and when she realized we were getting serious, she invited us to come to New York and get married there,” Mr. Boston said. “She was like a mother to me and we spent most summers there with her until she passed away.:”
Every couple has their favorite things about each other and one of the Bostons was traveling.
“We didn’t have much of anything when we got married but we made of what we had. I borrowed a $200 down payment from my daddy to buy a 1955 Chevy so we could go to Disney World. We may not have had a lot of money but we sure had fun with the little bit that we had.”
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Dick and Jo Deal have called Columbia their home their entire life. The fascinating part about love stories is each have such special beginnings.
Dick Deal first laid eyes on Jo when a friend invited her to the church they attended. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. Soon after, he was watching her on the hardwood, as she played basketball for Hub High School.
“I knew the first time I met her that she was the woman I was going to marry,” Mr. Deal offered.
Mrs. Deal smiled and nodded, agreeing with his statement. “Yeah, I think I knew it then, too. There was something special about him.”
Dating in the 1950s was a little different than today.
“Our date nights included cruising Columbia in my dad’s 1947 Pontiac. The whine of that car could be heard for miles! We would ride through town and see our friends and end up at Cook’s Dairy Delight (now Southern Fried Rabbit). We’d order malts and burgers and just listen to music while hanging out with our friends. Those were some really good days,” Mr. Deal explained.
After just a few months of dating, he decided to pop the question. Well, kind of.
“I bought an engagement ring and just handed it to her. No questions asked. She didn’t have to say a word. Her eyes did all the talking in that instant,” he answered with a chuckle from Mrs. Deal.
The Deals also took an alternate route when it came to how they tied the knot.
“We just left and went to Kokomo to see Pastor WC Burns. He had been my pastor at Pine Burr Baptist Church and was then preaching at Kokomo Baptist Church. We were the second couple he had ever married and we got married at the parsonage,” she remembered.
Life ticked on normally for the Deals, as he was mostly self-employed, driving trucks, and owning a service station and taxi cab service in Columbia.
“My last job was with Pearl River Valley. I was a contract courier with them for almost 25 years until I had my stroke,” Mr. Deal added, having had a stroke almost 5 years ago.
Mrs. Deal worked at some of the most historic businesses in Columbia, including starting at Jack’s Sandwich Shop on the Courthouse Square when she was 14. She also worked at Walker’s Dollar Stores and Rawl’s Saddle Shop.
The Deals raised four children together who all still call Columbia home. When asked what her favorite thing about her husband, Mrs. Deal responded, “Many years ago I asked the Lord for a good husband and in 1953, I got exactly that.”
Mr. Deal followed this by answering the question about the meaning of love. He didn’t hesitate a second before answering, “Putting others’ needs ahead of your own.”
This is definitely something the Deals have lived by for more than 66 years.
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Billy and Kay Regan have one of the most unique love stories in Marion County. Billy Regan first laid eyes on his future wife when she passed the boarding house on Church Street with her friends.
“She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Bar none!” he recalls.
“I had the same sentiment for him, and I knew there could definitely be a future for us, almost immediately,” Mrs. Regan followed up.
But, their story doesn’t exactly start there. A little while later, they were at the movies with friends and that’s where the story actually begins.
“One of my friends bet me a quarter that I would go sit beside her. We were watching Jimmy Stewart in ‘High Noon,’ and I reached over and held her hand. That was the true beginning of us,” Mr. Regan explained, holding his wife’s hand as he spoke.
Their dates were different than the young people who had vehicles then, so they had depend on finding a tall, shaded oak tree and sitting and talking.
“We thank the Good Lord for the ability to walk and find oak trees. We stopped and talked and were just fine with that,” Mr. Regan explained.
“We enjoyed our dating lives together without the money that a lot of kids had then,” Mrs. Regan added.
But, like most relationships, their love story wasn’t without a few hiccups along the way. Even though they dated for a long while, they did break up. Each tried dating other people but nothing ever felt right for either.
“I sang a song in the Columbia High School Gym called, ‘Can’t Help Loving That Man’ during a program and everybody turned to look at Billy. Even though we weren’t together, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that we were meant to be,” Mrs. Regan explained.
Mr. Regan was a sophomore at Columbia High School and not only one of the best baseball players in the area, but also the Wildcat quarterback.
Calls and visits came from Georgia Tech and Mississippi State but he wanted more from his life. Being that his future wife was a senior, they both were trying to determine what their next step would be, not only in life but in their lives together.
“I decided to join the Air Force in April, and we were married in May. Our honeymoon was actually us moving to Paris, France! We made a quick decision, but it was absolutely the right one,” Mr. Regan explained.
Being a part of the 7th and 8th Air Force as a systems analyst and programer, Mr. Regan traveled all over Vietnam on secret missions. Up until several years ago, some of the programs he put in place were still being used by the Air Force.
The Regans moved more than 20 times during their 20 years in the Air Force and called such places as Scotland, Hawaii and Guam home. Two of their four children were actually born on foreign soil.
When they were posed with the question, what love means to them, Mrs. Regan quickly answered, “Love to us being being IN LOVE with each other day in and day out for the rest of our lives. It’s worked well for us almost 65 years now.”
Pictured Above: Charles and Theodora Boston, top left, and Dick and Jo Deal, right, are two Columbia couples nominated by readers as examples of long and happy marriages. They sat down for Valentine’s Day interviews to talk about how they met and have stayed devoted to one another for more than six decades. At bottom left, Billy and Kay Regan hold hands inside their home. They’ve been married almost 65 years. Their journey together has included more than 20 moves during their 20 years in the U.S. Air Force. | Photos by Brandi Perry
