Harold and Wilma Virgint’s family marked a milestone day in a unique way Thursday.
Their son, Stan Virgint, daughter, Elizabeth Davison, and her fiancé, Dan Ross, had a window visit with them at Champlain Manor to celebrate the couple’s 65th wedding anniversary.
“We were going to have a big party, but with COVID-19, we couldn’t,” Davison said. “This is the best we could do, which is a drag, but we couldn’t let it go by.”
The family went all out to make sure the couple had a special day. Behind Wilma was the dress she wore on her wedding day, June 11, 1955. Davison also had a replica of her parents’ wedding cake made and delivered to the retirement home on Fittons Road.
“It’s beautiful,” Wilma said.
Asked what the secret to a long marriage was, Wilma, 90, said simply, “Love.”
There’s more to it than love, though, Stan noted.
“Love, for sure,” he said. “Love and respect and God. God gives us the power to carry on.”
A few arguments proved healthy, too.
“They scrapped,” Stan said with a laugh. “They didn’t hold grudges. They got it out of their system.”
Being away from their parents during the pandemic has been “rough.”
“We always go out to lunch,” Stan said. “I don’t want her going stir crazy.”
They often talk on the phone, but it isn’t the same as being together. Thursday’s visit was the next-best option.
“I’m very happy we could do this for them,” Davison said, adding she agreed with her brother about the role faith has played in her parents’ long-lasting marriage. “Because they followed the Bible to a T, God has kept them together.”
Harold will turn 91 next week.
