Marriage dates to 75 years ago; friendship longer

Marsha Kay Seff
Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

Marie and Leslie Dunlap don't see anything special about themselves. Nothing special - except that Marie, 94, and Leslie, 96, will celebrate 75 years of marriage this year.

"He's too old for me," quips Marie, who still drives, shops and cooks, and plays duplicate bridge regularly with her San Diego neighbors.

Though Leslie has developed hearing and sight problems, the couple live independently in a two-bedroom condo owned by their son and daughter-in-law.

Unfortunately, Leslie says, he gave up bridge because of his failing eyesight from macular degeneration. But what the former dean of libraries really misses are his books. "Lord, I was a great reader ... I don't complain, though, because there's no pain."

And with the help of a walker, he's still able to walk around the neighborhood.

The two have known each other since they were teenagers and neighbors in Portland, Ore.

"His mother was my art teacher," Marie says. "She used to talk about me at dinner."

The teens also had a mutual friend.

"One time, I came with him (to see Marie) to see what my mom was talking about," Leslie says. "We became friends and started dating when I was 17."

She was 15. Their first formal date was a movie.

Marie says he was fun and congenial. She was only 19 1/2 when the couple married.

"My parents liked him very much. He was sorta part of the family. He had goals they liked; he was going to college and grad school. He did it all, and I went with him."

He graduated in English comparative literature from the University of Oregon. Then he received master's degrees in both library science and English from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in American history from the same school.

He worked at the University of Wisconsin, Library of Congress, University of British Columbia and University of Illinois. At the Library of Congress, he says, he was among those who opened President Lincoln's papers at midnight, 21 years after the death of his son, Robert Todd Lincoln.

Leslie says he also helped open the Herbert Hoover Library in West Branch, Iowa.

"I met Herbert Hoover at the dedication, and he thanked me."

And, Leslie says, he selected books for the library in Vice President Walter Mondale's home.

Leslie retired as dean of library administration at the University of Iowa after more than 22 years. The couple have two children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

"We've just been a happy family," Marie says. "We've had a lot of fun and a lot of excitement."

Her advice for couples just starting out: "First of all, you have to like each other and enjoy doing things together."

His advice: "Their tongues should be locked in their mouths."

"We're lucky to have lived this long together," Marie says. "Many people would have been on their second marriage by now. I'm not talking divorce; I'm talking death."

Leslie adds, "The remarkable thing is that we're both alive."