Jack and Bea Fearon, left, Steve and Mary Lou Cousley, David and Marie Vladyka and Jeri and Bob Bové renew vows. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Ron Hayes
Fifty years ago, the Beatles invaded America, the first ZIP code appeared, the first lung was transplanted and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were married, for the first time.
Also married in 1964 were many less-celebrated but far more stable couples.
Bob and Jeri Bové, 72 and 70, were married in the Bronx, N.Y., that year.
Jack and Bea Fearon, 83 and 73, were married in Ozone Park, N.Y.
David and Marie Vladyka, both 71, were married in Passaic, N.J.
Steve and Mary Lou Cousley, both 73, were married in East St. Louis, Ill.
Alas, the Burton-Taylor marriage did not fare well. The movie stars were divorced in 1974, remarried in 1975 and re-divorced in 1976.
But a half-century later, the Bovés, Fearons, Vladykas and Cousleys are still happily wed, and on March 9, a perfectly sunny Sunday afternoon, about 100 friends and neighbors in the Colonial Ridge Club gathered by the condo’s gazebo atop the dunes to celebrate “200 Years Of Love.”
To be honest, the Cousleys were married on June 8, 1963, but let’s not be picky. It’s still their 50th year.
“201 Years Of Love!”
The renewal of their vows was more celebration than sacrament.
As Chapel of Love (The Dixie Cups, 1964) played on a laptop computer, the four couples ascended the dunes to cheers and applause while smartphones, iPads and even an old-fashioned camera or two recorded the event.
Jack Fearon wore a Hawaiian shirt and shorts.
Mary Lou Cousley wore her original wedding dress. (“It has a little expansion panel in the back now,” she confessed.) Her husband, Steve, sported a big, black, bogus mustache to add a touch of silliness to the occasion.
Marie Vladyka was accompanied by Denise Palino and Kathy Shinn, the same bridesmaids who saw her down the aisle all those years ago.
Atop the dunes, they were greeted by their chosen clergyman, Norman Provost, who added to the dignity of the occasion by dressing all in white, including the ball cap.
“Many years ago, I sent off $3 to the Universal Church of Life in Modesto, Calif., and received a certificate making me a minister in the church,” Provost began. “So what we have here today is a $3 wedding.”
Pastor Provost was a master at mixing satire and sentiment.
“You’re all still together, and all above ground,” he pointed out. “You’ve gone from being young and restless to old and cranky.”
And then he got down to business.
“Fifty percent of all marriages end within the first 10 years, but you’re people who made a commitment and kept that commitment for 50 years.”
“Amen,” someone in the crowd murmured.
“Amen,” several others agreed.
“Now take each other’s hand for a moment and think back to when you first took that hand and knew ‘This is the person.’ ”
The couples clasped hands.
“You’ve kept your vows for 50 years,” Provost said. “Do they really need to be renewed?”
They exchanged some souvenir rings, and then they exchanged kisses. The service ended with laughter as the laptop sang Who’s Sorry Now? followed by a champagne toast. The whole affair was coordinated by the pastor’s wife, Laura Provost.
Then the crowd ambled back to the condo clubhouse, where a roast pig with an apple in its mouth awaited.
This was not a 1964 reception.
“Back then we had cake and punch and homemade mints in the Methodist church basement,” Mary Louis Cousley remembered.
“We had roast beef and a bottle of Scotch and it cost us $5.95 per person,” Bob Bové recalled.
“Prime rib,” Jack Fearon said. “Her father paid.”
And then, over chicken and pig, beer and soft drinks, they revealed the secret of a 50-year marriage.
Patience was an essential ingredient, they agreed, and laughter; but Jack Fearon offered the most candid formula.“We have a system,” he explained. “She assigns the blame, and I accept the responsibility. But I’m negotiating a change.”
Marie and David
Vladyka
Bea and Jack Fearon
Jeri and Bob Bové
Mary Lou and Steve Cousley
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