Bob & Bettye BROWN married 70 years -- 2015

BROWN, HISEL, HUFF, MCLARNEY

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 12/31/2015 at 17:44:55

"The Fairfield Ledger"
Friday, December 18, 2015
Page 2

BROWNs celebrating 70th wedding anniversary

Bob and Bettye BROWN of Fairfield will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with a family gathering Christmas Eve.

Betty Rose HISEL and Robert W. BROWN were married Dec. 24, 1945, at her parents' home.

Mr. BROWN is retired from Jefferson Motor Company, and Mrs. BROWN is retired from Hy-Vee.

The BROWNs have five children: Ron and Sharon BROWN, Nancy and Phil HUFF, Barbara and Joe McLARNEY, Phil and Cindy BROWN and Doug and LuAnn BROWN. They also have 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Cards can be sent to the couple at 400 S. 33rd St., Fairfield 52556.

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"The Fairfield Ledger" and
"Fairfield Town Crier"
Friday, June 10, 2016
Pages 2 and 3

BROWNs celebrate 70 years of matrimony
By Nicole Hester-Williams
Ledger staff writer

Bettye BROWN said she knew she had a good thing when she saw it -- and even after 70 years, she hasn't let it go.

"A lot of people said it wouldn't last," she said, adding that she and her husband Bob got married when she was 19 and he was 20 years old.

"My father had to sign for me to be able to get married," Bob said, explaining that back then, young men had to be at least 21 before tying the knot.

Now at 90 and 91 years old, the couple still quip about their times together, in a bond that has lasted for more than seven decades. The couple celebrated 70 years of marriage last December. Both from southeast Iowa, Bob and Betty (sic) attended the same high school. Bettye was a year behind Bob, and the two didn't know each other well.

"She was an underclassman. It makes a difference at that age," Bob said.

Bob said that throughout his high school days, World War II was in full force and when he was 17, he was given the option of staying in school as a member of the Home Guard, now the National Guard or being drafted.

"I was 18 years old before I graduated," he recalled, remembering his principal and officer in the home guard J.F.T. Sauer, who gave him the choice.

After high school, Bob served as a trail gunman (sic - tail gunner) on a B-24 bomber in the European Theatre. The couple recalled the hard times during the war.

"There was no gas to even drive a car," Bettye said.

When Bob returned home after the European war was over, he asked a friend to set him up on a date. It was with Bettye.

"We went on a blind date on the Fourth of July," Bettye said. "We married on Christmas Eve."

"My mother thought Bob was wonderful," Bettye said chuckling. "We just had a little house then. Looking back, we paid $25 for our apartment."

Bob attended Parson's College (sic) on the G.I. Bill after his service to the country, and the couple went on to rear five children - all of whom currently live in Iowa.

"We were married on Christmas Eve, and a year from January had our first baby," Bettye said.

"Ron lives across from [Fairfield] High School," Bettye said of their oldest son. "Our daughters, Nancy HUFF and Barbara McLARNEY, live in Fairfield, our son Phil lives in Cedar Rapids, and our son Doug lives in Richland."

The couple reminisced about camping trips, breakfast in the park, and decorating during holidays and many other times the family spent together.

Now, the pair has 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Bob retired from Jefferson Motor Ford Mercury Dealership around 29 years ago.

Bettye began her working career at Hy-Vee Food & Drug Store's meat department after her children grew up.

"I just loved it," she said. "It was a great job."

They both acknowledge their blessings, but Bob explained that it hasn't been all roses during those 70 years.

"A lot of people think we had 70 years of good, but marriage is a give and go situation," Bob said, commenting that many couples today are inclined to give up if something doesn't seem to be working out.

Bob said marriage is about give and take.

"There are quiet times," Bettye said. "You don't have anything to regret saying either."

Bob said he learned from a friend that when having a disagreement with your spouse, one should say, "Well, honey, you're probably right."

He said the phrase worked for him for a while until Bettye wised up to what he was doing.

"Someone tipped her off about it, and when I said it one day, she went right out of the room," he said chuckling.

The couple has had years to get to know each other.

"He mows the lawn every five days," Bettye said, eyeing the extensive green lawn surrounding their lovely home that was built in 1978.

Bob is also an avid gardener.

"We planted every single tree we have in this pasture," she said.

Bettye enjoys playing bridge, while Bob attends Howard Johnson coffee hour five days per week at the Fairfield Senior Citizen Center.

"They are a great bunch of guys -- it's good therapy for you," Bob said of his coffee buddies.

"I go about three mornings a week," Bettye said.

However, gardening, playing bridge and having coffee each morning with friends is not the only way the couple stays active. They've spent their last 19 winters in Texas.

"'Q-Tips' -- that's what they call us," Bettye said smiling, while holding up a book by Alan C. Tibbetts called "Winter Texans: (Or) The Q-Tip Invasion of the Rio Grande Valley."

The book talks about the expanding number of snowbirds in the Longhorn state.

"Q-Tip means white hair and white tennis shoes," she said, adding that they really enjoy themselves every time they go to Texas.

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

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