Breaking the Record for Longest Lasting Marriages
Happy senior couple opening a Valentine. Source: (gettyimages.com)
Is marriage still applicable to modern society or is it a dying institution? According to some, it is still a thriving partnership. Although rare today, there are still couples who stick together through the hard times and stay committed to each other. These record-breaking marriages portray that commitment through their individual stories and are an inspiration to others.
Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher broke the Guinness Book of World Records in 2008 for maintaining their marriage for, at that time, 84 years which continued for another three years until his death. Both passed away at the age of 105 a couple of years apart from each other. He died in 2013 and, at that time, they had been married for 86 (almost 87) years. They had five children, 10 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. According to interviews with them, before they passed away, they had met when they were in elementary school and became best friends. Their advice to others on how to have a successful marriage was quite simple. Communication, honesty, faithfulness, and, of course, love are the main ingredients.
This amazing couple has been married even longer than the Fishers who broke the Guinness Book of World Records in 2008. Mr. and Mrs. Chand were allegedly married for 90 years – almost a century. They had a large family of eight children and 27 grandchildren. Mr. Chand passed away of natural causes in 2016 just before his 111th birthday. The Chands met in India while they were still teenagers and were married in 1925. They eventually relocated to West Yorkshire and made their home in Bradford. It was there where Kartari Chand, along with her huge family as well as her extended family, celebrated her 106th birthday in November of 2018.
The Betar couple had quite an interesting beginning. They were living in Bridgeport, Connecticut when they fell in love. Ann was 17 and John was 21. Unfortunately, Ann’s father did not agree with her choice. He had something else in mind for her that was contrary to what she wanted. Her father had plans for her to marry a man that was 20 years older than her. However, as a way out, in November of 1932, the two of them chose to elope so they took off for Harrison, New York. The family was not very happy with them and some even made comments that the marriage would never last. But they proved them wrong. At the time of John’s passing in 2017, they had been married for 85 years. They had five children, 14 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.
Maurice married his sweetheart, Helen in 1934 in a London synagogue. Helen was 17 when they met in 1930. Maurice was a businessman managing two shops as well as his father’s factory up until 1939 when he joined the Army. Sadly, German bombs took out not only the businesses but also their home forcing them to move to Bournemouth, where they lived for 78 years at the time of his death. By that time, they had four children to raise. Tragically, their four-year-old son died in 1949. Another of their four children, Lezley passed away at age 39. Besides the four children, they had seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Despite going through these tragic events, Maurice was known to have had a really good sense of humor. Both Maurice and Helen stayed quite active throughout their lives. In fact, when he was 102, Maurice was still driving and Helen was staying up to date on technology. During an interview in 2017 when asked about the secret to long life, Maurice’s response was “Not dying!” After being married for 84 years, Maurice passed away at the age of 106.
Long life and a long lasting marriage can bring a sense of fulfillment. It can be that period at the end of a sentence or a conclusion at the end of a story. These couples experienced both, having lived long lives and had long happy marriages.
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