Their marriage turns 73

Don and Carley Lawrence have been inseparable for the last 73 years.

The Lewiston couple is celebrating 73 years of marriage today, with Don being 98 and Carley 99. There’s a lot to remember in 73 years, but there’s plenty of memorable moments, like how Don and Carley met.

“At a wedding,” Don said.

A fitting place to start such an enduring marriage.

Don was the best man at his cousin’s wedding in 1951. Carley was there as a bridesmaid for her roommate. The two went together to a party after the rehearsal and then Don drove Carley back to her home in Lewiston. He stayed with his aunt in Lewiston and drove them up to Moscow the next day for the wedding.

After the wedding, Don visited Carley in Lewiston every weekend from Deary, where he worked for Potlatch Forest Inc., laying out roads for logging. Carley worked in Lewiston as a bookkeeper for Washington Water Power.

Some of their dating activities would be familiar to today’s couples; they went on picnics and to the movies. Don said that when they went to the theater, he would ask Carley if she wanted popcorn and she would say no.

“I’d just buy popcorn and then she’d sit and eat my popcorn,” he said.

Some things don’t change among couples.

Other dates were more unique. Don’s cousin, who was a pilot, would fly to Moose Creek for fishing. Don asked Carley if she wanted to go, but she would have to pay for her own ticket. Carley did, and they spent the day fishing at Moose Creek.

Proposals weren’t the ceremony they are today. Don doesn’t quite remember how or when it happened.

“I don’t remember how that came about, it just happened naturally,” Don said.

Carley is the one who remembers dates. When they met, June 13; when she got her engagement ring, Sept. 7; but they both remember this important date: Nov. 10, 1951, the day they were married.

The Lawrences had their wedding at the Presbyterian church in Lewiston, what is now Congregational Presbyterian Church. Their honeymoon got off to a less-than-romantic start; they drove from Lewiston to Walla Walla in a rainstorm.

“It was really terrible,” Don said. “We were going to stay the night at a hotel, but it was booked so we had to go to a motel for our wedding night.”

After getting married, they lived in Lewiston until June the next year, when they moved to Deary. They bought a home and took over Deary Mercantile from Don’s parents. Don ran the store and Carley did the bookkeeping.

“I always handled the finances and he handled the spending,” Carley said, with a laugh from her and Don.

In Deary, the couple had three children, Barbara, Mark and Geri. Their youngest daughter, Geri, now visits them every week from Spokane.

The two worked together at the store and lived a block and a half way. Don would come home for lunch and take care of the kids, then Carley kept an eye on the store. Carley worked on Saturdays until the kids were school-aged, then both parents worked in the store.

They always had big family dinners because Don’s mother liked such gatherings at the holidays. When she was no longer able to do that for the family, Carley took over.

“I carried on the tradition of family dinners for the Lawrence family for as long as we lived in Deary,” she said.

Their focus was on being together as a couple and as a family, often at the store.

“We mostly just — ” Carley said.

“Worked in the store,” Don finished.

The Lawrences had some special offerings at the store as well. They made potato sausage every Christmas and Thanksgiving because of the Scandinavian community in the area. They also sold elk bugles that Don made.

In his retirement, Don had a woodworking shop and made carvings of birds, animals and birdhouses. Those wooden mementos fill the shelves in his room at the Idaho State Veterans Home at Lewiston.

If the store and their kids didn’t keep them busy enough, the Lawrences were also involved in the community and the Lutheran church. Don was on the city council and served as the first chairman of the Strawberry Festival. He was Master Mason, being a member of the organization since he was 21. He recently received a plaque commemorating his 75 years as a Mason, the longest living member of the Blue Lodge in Idaho.

Carley served on the White Pine School Board as chairwoman for 21 years, a Camp Fire leader and was involved with the PTA.

The Lawrences owned the store for 43 years, retiring in 1994 and moving to Lewiston. After they retired, they spent winters in Arizona for 15 years. They spent their time together golfing, traveling, snowmobiling, playing bridge and spending time with friends.

“Most of our activities we did were together,” Carley said.

The exception was Don’s hunting trips. When he was on those trips, it was the longest the two were apart, which lasted about a week. The fact they spent so much time together and stayed married shows the strength of their union.

“It has to be a pretty good relationship to endure working together and living together for that many years,” Carley said. “I always say we have an argument every day, but we still get along.”

Don also attributes their success to their communication skills.

“To be able to talk, to be able to talk about things,” Don said. “We make decisions that we both agreed on.”

And making the time for eating together.

“We always had meals together,” Carley said.

“Well, that’s because you cooked them,” Don added.

That tradition is still going on, although it looks a little different. Carley took care of Don until last December, when he came to live at the Idaho State Veterans Home. Carley still lives at their home, but she visits him every day where they still have meals together.

Don looks forward to her visits.

“I miss her,” he said.

In their 73 years together, they’ve had a lot of anniversaries together. They don’t always have a big party, and won’t this year either, just sharing a lunch.

“I think they’ve all been special,” Carley said. “They’re always celebrated.”

Spending a lifetime together should be.

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.