Still together after all these years

Stefanie Frith

NEWPORT BEACH -- Looking down at the shiny gold wedding ring on his

hand, Dick Stewart smiled and patted his wife Margaret on the knee.

“It’s been 60 years and I finally have a wedding ring,” said Dick,

who’s 84, as is his wife. “That’s a long time.”

At the stroke of midnight New Year’s Eve, the Newport Beach couple

celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Saturday, they were given a

party by family and friends where they renewed their vows and Dick

finally received his wedding ring after so many years.

“Back then, men just didn’t wear their rings as much and we just

didn’t think about it,” Margaret said, twisting her own wedding ring.

“But this was something we have been talking about for a little while, so

now Dick has a ring, too.”

In the rush that the couple got married, there wasn’t a lot of talk

about getting a ring for Dick. They barely had time to find a minister.

The two met on a double date, with Dick going out with Margaret’s

friend. Then Dick asked the friend for Margaret’s telephone number and,

later, her hand in marriage. They had been engaged for two months, after

knowing each other less than one year, when the time seemed right.

“We got married, well, spontaneously,” Margaret said. “We were broke

and we didn’t have any big plans so we just got a couple people together

and got married in Buffalo, N.Y., where we were living and working at

Curtis (an airplane manufacturing corporation).”

“We didn’t have anything else to do, so why not?” Dick added, patting

Margaret’s knee again.

After the wedding, the Stewarts honeymooned in Niagara Falls and then

moved to Ohio. They dealt with the Depression, World War II and, later,

having two of their three children stationed in Vietnam.

Margaret said it was the ‘40s that were tough. The ‘50s that were good

enough to allow them to buy a boat.

Dick continued to build airplanes, later retiring to build radios and

become a consultant in for an engineering company.

After living in the Midwest, the Stewarts moved to Newport Beach in

1969, and today Dick volunteers with Meals on Wheels and as an ambassador

at John Wayne Airport.

“Oh, that’s fun,” he said. “I get to wear the red coat and the ‘May I

help you?’ button. I’ve met lots of really interesting people.”

Margaret said she feels blessed that she and Dick have been able to

travel the world and make so many friends, 65 of whom attended the

Stewarts’ anniversary party Saturday. By Sunday afternoon, Margaret and

Dick said they were so exhausted that they were just hoping they would be

able to stay up until their actual anniversary at midnight.

“We’ve gotten so much attention recently,” Margaret said, giving Dick

a little squeeze. “We are so lucky to be together. So many marriages fall

apart and we have been together for six decades. It’s such a good feeling

to know that you have been loved all of your life.”