Henderson couple celebrates 72 years of marriage
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CHESTER COUNTY, Tenn. — In a day when more than half of American marriages end in divorce, one West Tennessee couple has more than defied the odds. This weekend they celebrated more than seven decades of wedded bliss. Paul and Margie Deal met in 1934 at church in Bloomington, Illinois. The two were eleven years old. Margie says it was love at first sight. “I fell in love with him that night and I told my sister, that’s the one I want to marry,” she said. Paul says the feeling was not mutual. “I was not impressed with her,” he said. He explained he really was not interested in girls at the time. Margie said she was not going to let his disinterest keep her from following her heart. “I made up my mind that I’m going to get you, and if you don’t want to talk to me, that’s okay,” Margie said. By the time the two were 16, they were dating. “She won me over,” Paul said. Paul was a high school basketball player. He said he would pick Margie up to cheer him on from the stands. Eventually the two eloped to Missouri and were married in the middle of the night by a preacher, with the only witnesses being the preacher and his dog. “I had 25 cents in my pocket,” Paul said. “And I had a candy bar,” Margie said. The couple admitted that while they celebrated 72 years together Thursday, they still have not had a honeymoon. The duo said they have had ups and downs, like when Margie says Paul’s mother was less than impressed by her skills in the kitchen. “She said she can’t even cook! And I couldn’t, and that was a hilarious time,” she said. Margie says she did learn to cook and even taught their eight children. The couple, who have traveled the country as Paul served as a preacher to different churches, says there is no secret to making it more than 70 years together. It just takes a little love. “I don’t think a lot of people know what genuine love is,” said both Deals as they completed each other’s sentences. “You love when it’s bad. You love when it’s good. You love when it’s wrong and when it’s right. You love when you have money and when you don’t have money.” The couple have 19 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
