Forest Lake couple Jerry and Marilyn Saunders toast their 70th anniversary during a small gathering with family. Their anniversary was on March 22.
When Jerry and Marilyn Saunders got married, they thought to their future, but they’d be the first to admit that they didn’t think this far down the road. On March 22, the Forest Lake couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with their characteristic good humor.
“Every year, you say, ‘This will probably be the last year,’” Marilyn joked.
Jerry is now 91 and Marilyn is 88. The couple grew up in the same neighborhood in West St. Paul, and their romance blossomed when they were teens. Marilyn remembers going with some other female friends to the local baseball diamond to watch Jerry and other teenagers play baseball.
The two got engaged in 1943, not long before Jerry shipped out to serve the Navy in World War II. Jerry received multiple combat stripes for his service, which included ferrying troops and tanks to Omaha Beach on D-Day – along with an unexpected job driving a jeep onto the beach that day after the man who was supposed to do it became too afraid.
“We lost half our men that day,” Jerry recalled of his crew.
The Saunders were married only 12 days after Jerry returned from World War II.
After D-Day, Jerry was involved with the ferrying of German prisoners of war to American warships. He remembered that when the Germans were being guarded by American forces, they would mime requests for cigarettes because the American smokes were better than the ones the Germans had. Most of the Germans Jerry encountered face to face weren’t so bad, he said.
“They just had a bad leader,” he said solemnly, referring to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Jerry returned home on March 10, 1946, and he and Marilyn were married 12 days later. Marilyn said that even though the wedding happened quickly, she wasn’t too stressed about planning the event.
“(In those) days, they didn’t fuss about it like they do now,” she said.
Though Jerry had sent his military earnings home, by his account he and his wife got married with “no money, no house, no car, no job.” They lived with family for a while until Jerry got a job delivering milk to area grocery stores from a local creamery, a job he held for about 40 years before retiring. Marilyn became a stay-at-home mom, caring for the couple’s three children: Dean, Steve and Debbie (now Bushman). Before, during and after their kids’ childhoods, the Saunders enjoyed spending time outside and taking part in activities like skating, skiing and other recreation.
“We had a wonderful time,” Marilyn said.
Though the couple loved living in West St. Paul, about 15 years ago they pulled up stakes to move to Forest Lake, home to kids Steve (who owns the local Kentucky Fried Chicken) and Debbie (a Forest Lake Area Schools special education paraprofessional). They enjoy their new community and being close to their family, which includes seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
The Saunders said that though all marriages go through rough patches, theirs has been worth the hard work they put into serving each other and staying in love. Jerry remembered the insecurity he felt when his kids were born, wondering if he would make enough money to provide.
“You work at (the relationship) every day,” he said.
To the Saunders, that means time spent together, exchanging kindnesses and cultivating shared interests. Both Marilyn and Jerry are fans of Minnesota sports teams, especially the Twins, and until only a few years ago, they owned a hobby farm in Pine City, where they would frequently escape to enjoy the outdoors and tend their crop of corn. They have also enjoyed frequent strolls together, regular outings, and even time on the water. Jerry said he was once an avid fisherman, and “Marilyn used to go on the boat with me.”
Even after nine decades on Earth, the couple still has plenty of vim and vigor. They still go on walks, tell each other jokes and frequent local restaurants. Jerry still drives and prides himself on his physical acumen. At 92, he stands straight and tall and cuts a trim figure, which he credits to the daily workouts he does in the couple’s garage.
“I think that’s what keeps me going,” he said with a smile.
Marilyn believes the key to the Saunders’ marital success has been a sense of humor and “lots of prayers.” Jerry thinks it’s been important to work through disagreements – not that the couple has had many over the years – and to put the other person first.
“What you have to do is you have to be good to each other,” he said.