It is often said that a marriage lasts a lifetime and many times two soulmates spend together an impressive number of years. The longevity of such a marriage lies in understanding one another and communicating at the same wavelength.
John and Ann Betar made the decision to tie the knot on November 25, 1932, when they took each other’s hand and fled the Syrian quarter near Bridgeport, Connecticut, and traveled as fast as they could to Harrison, New York in order to avoid Ann’s father’s plans to marry him to a man 20 years her senior.
Now, when they both approach the 81st anniversary of their marriage, they recall with much excitement their life together throughout all these years. John Betar, now 102, smiles remembering the madness of their escape and the fact that his aunt’s wife consoled her father to accept his daughter’s decision
John’s wife, Ann Betar, now 98, confesses that their marriage has been great all these years, and the key to their happiness was understanding and communicating with each other despite all the differences between them. Life has not always been easy. The couple lost a daughter and their only son in the past 15 years. John and Ann Betar now have 14 grandchildren and 16 grandchildren.
Representatives of the “World Marriage Encounter,” a Christian group in San Bernardino, California, came to the Betar family with an anniversary plaque and many gifts for the couple that have become the longest-married couple in the United States of America. Their marriage has meant only one thing – love, over 81 years.