Mariann and Don Jeffrey, both 93, celebrate their 76th anniversary April 21 in their Southgate home.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE – When Don and Mariann Jeffrey eloped as high school seniors on April 21, 1945, he had $3 in his pocket and a high school baseball game to play afterward.
He said he wanted to be at the game because he hoped to be scouted by the Detroit Tigers. However, he was drafted soon after his high school graduation, which ended his dreams of a baseball career. However, their marriage has been a long-running success.
Don Jeffrey said his father predicted their marriage would last just six months – a prediction which is now off by 906 months.
The two met at Angell Elementary School in Detroit, and they started dating when they were attending different Detroit high schools: He was at Northwestern, and she was at Cass Tech.
When they eloped, a buddy of his drove them to Wauseon, Ohio, on April 21, 1945, where a Methodist minister married the pair.
In October 1945, Don Jeffrey was drafted into the Army, as World War II was winding down, and he served stateside for a year and nine days, distributing mustering-out pay to soldiers returning stateside.
Working in a financial capacity may have led him to Dorsey Business School, after which he worked for the National Bank of Detroit for 47 years. Upon retirement, he wrote a book about the history of Michigan banking, and has received multiple honors.
Mariann Jeffrey studied nursing, and raised the couple’s four children: Daniel, 73, Cathy (who died in 2006), Kenneth, 67, and 62-year-old Don Jr. The couple have six grandchildren (one girl and five boys) and two great grandchildren (a boy and a girl).
Last year, during their 75th anniversary, they were feted with a drive-by parade, featuring a fire engine and police cars, and their front yard was enthusiastically decorated.
This year, they didn’t have another parade, but they were happy to be able to safely go out to dinner at a restaurant.
They celebrated their 25th anniversary at the Methodist Church where they were married in Ohio, and they celebrated their 50th anniversary in Aruba.
After Don Jeffrey retired, after being on the road for much of his career, they found themselves spending a lot more time together than they ever had, which was an adjustment.
“Because Don traveled so much, he never really had to do that much around the house,” Mariann Jeffrey said. “Everything was hired out. I doubt he ever cut the grass.”
She said her husband told her early in their marriage that as a boy, he had to work on his grandfather’s farm every summer, and his goal was to get a good job so he never had to do that type of menial work again.
Don Jeffrey said he is an early riser, while his wife is a night owl.
He said they go out to dinner together almost every night, because she retired from cooking when he retired from his job in banking. They said they got a lot of carryout when the restaurants were closed at the peak of the pandemic.
Don Jeffrey said the pandemic has kept them from their cottage on Lake Erie in Leamington, Ontario, which they miss.
He said they both get exercise regularly, and she said neither of them ever smoked. They both eat healthy food, and try to get enough sleep.
What is the secret to a long, happy marriage?
“We get along, and we think alike,” Don Jeffrey said. “We don’t argue about politics or religion or anything like that.”
Mariann Jeffrey said it is important not to hold a grudge.
Don Jeffrey said his advice to newlyweds is to make up and get over it after they have a fight.
“Don’t go get a divorce over one fight,” Don Jeffrey said. “You are going to have your arguments and disagreements, but you kiss and make up, and don’t go to bed mad at each other.”