Article Contributed on: 1/8/2007 2:52:01 PM
On January 10, 2007,
Marlin and
Kathleen Kelly, Harvey Park residents since 1962, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.
After being stationed at Fort Logan in 1952 while it was still an active army post,Marlin and Kathleensettled on south Winona Ct. in 1962 when most of Bear Valley was open fields and the land between Sheridan and Wadsworth boulevards at Yale Avenue was known as Hiwan Ranch.
Two of their five children,
Michael and
Kathleen Mary Jr., graduated from Lincoln High School after attending Kunsmiller Junior High since John F. Kennedy High School hadn't been built yet. Their middle daughter,
Tricia, was in one of the first graduating classes at JFK, and their two youngest daughters,
Laurie and
Maureen graduated from JFK when it was a junior/senior high school on split session.
Marlin and Kathleen are both cancer survivors and World War II veterans. Marlin, an army first lieutenant, was stationed in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands during the war while Kathleen went to work for Boeing helping to build bombers during the "Rosie the Riveter" era.
They met at the University of Washington in 1941 andwere married in Van Nuys, Calif., in 1942. Because of Marlin's active military status, they had only 24 hours for a honeymoon, and their marriage license cost $2. During several military transfers, they transported all of their possessions ina 1938 4-door Chevy.
Marlin retired from the Veterans Administration in 1976 after 30 years and stayed in the army reserves and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Kathleen, an Accredited Records Technician, retired from Bethesda Hospital on Iliff Avenue in 1982. She enjoyed a second career as a certified land and water fitness instructor working for the Southwest YMCA and the Foothills Park and Rec District.
Their oldest and only son Michael and his wife live in New Barrington, Mass.; their oldest daughter Kathleen Mary Jr., died in 1994; Tricia and her family live in Lakewood; Laurie and her family in Littleton, and Maureen and her family live in Harvey Park. They have six grandsons and one granddaughter.
The secret to their long marriage? "Faith, communication, and lots of love."