On this Valentine’s Day, two Lexington couples have a total of 126 years of marriage to celebrate.
94-year-old Clayton Smith and 92-year-old Shirley Smith tied the knot 71 years ago.
It started very innocently.
Shirley was a young nurse in Pittsburgh, and Clayton worked as a “soda jerk” at a nearby drugstore. Shirley remembers, “all the nurses used to go to that drug store to see the soda jerk, because he was so cute. And so, I went too, and I liked him. I thought he was cute, but he didn't pay any attention to me.”
Shirley was not going to let that stop her so according to Clayton, she surprised him with a mischievous stunt at a picnic.
“We were sitting at this table, and I with this pretty blonde lady, and she's across from me, and she gets down under the table and fills my cuffs with dirt and comes up just smiling.” What did he think of that? “I didn't know what to think.”
About a year later they married before Clayton shipped off to Korea in the U.S. Army.
71-years later Shirley appreciates Clayton. “He's a true gentleman. He's just so kind and loving, and he's always there. I can trust him. I can depend on him, and he was a good father. He's just so special.”
Clayton says the feeling is mutual, and every Valentine’s Day he makes sure Shirley receives a dozen red roses. While they’ve shared an enduring love Clayton says one of the qualities, he admires is their ability to not let anger or a disagreement linger.
“It may sound silly, but we don't have any serious arguments. And I came from a fighting family if that's the right term, and so I didn't want any part of that. And we've probably had a few battles, I'm sure, but I mean, we do it sensibly, and we try to never go to bed, not speaking to each other. That's kind of one of our rules. And sometimes we have to stay up a little longer than usual, but it works.”
The Smiths now call home their apartment at Sayre Christian Village, a nonprofit retirement community in Lexington.
Two of the Smith’s neighbors are Jim and Billie Halsey. While the Smiths say they fell in love fairly quickly, 82-year-old Billie says it was definitely not love at first sight when she and Jim first met at Eastern Kentucky University.
“Oh no, we dated for six years before we got married. Now, our college roommates got married right away that year, but no, took us six years. I didn't think much of him. Actually, I wasn't looking for anything at that moment. He was nice looking and all clean cut, and, you know, he had his Marine Corps haircut and the whole thing. It took a lot to impress me at that stage in my life.”
55-years later they are happily married. Financial problems can often challenge a young couple. Shirley says she learned a lot from her husband.
“He was good at managing money, which that was the good news and the bad news, because I was not, so that he kept me on the straight and narrow as far as spending money. We had a good time. We like to party and go out, so it was fun.”
Jim, now 87, appreciates the love and support Billie has shown him through the years, especially during the tough times.
“I had a long bad stroke. And she did a great job during that time, over a period of quite a few years, she took care of everything, did a good job.”
The couple, like the Smiths, also believe the art of compromise is key to a long, happy marriage.
Billie says, “we are total polar opposites, so everything's a compromise. And if you can't compromise, if you strictly think about what you want and what you need, it ain't gonna work. So, you gotta compromise on most things, actually. I mean, even from food to money, everything. So that's the key to it, I think is, is compromising talking about it. We had to learn to do that.”
The Halseys and the Smiths were front and center for this month’s “Sweetheart Ball” at Sayre Christian Village.
Red decorations and plenty of Valentine’s Day treats filled a party room where dozens of senior citizens celebrated love and romance. Live music filled the air, and out on the dance floor members of Transylvania University Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, dressed in suits, served as dance partners. The Smiths were crowned “king and queen” at last year’s Sweetheart Ball.
This year the Haleys took the honors. Both couples hit the dance floor as “Love Me Tender” tickled their ears and hearts.
Shirley loves this part of her life. “This is the best time yet. This is wonderful. I just love this part of my life. And so here we are at the end of our lives, and we're in Sayre, and we love it. We love it here. We love being together. We love not having to cook or clean or do anything like that. And we say this is the best part of our lives. But of course, the very best part of our life is yet to come.”
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