Larry & Nancy Larson
- Married Since 1960
August 1958- We met at the “400 Club” Dance Pavilion outside of Menomonie, WI, which is now Rassbach’s Furniture store. Both of us were there with our own friends. We met and danced with one another and sparks flew and here we are 64 years later! (side note-family lore has it that Mom thought Dad was cute and she “accidentally” stepped on his toe as she was dancing out on the floor to get his attention. We are very happy that she did!) One week later, we had our first date. It was my very first date with a guy, my parents had not allowed me to date prior to this, I was 18!
We were married on June 5, 1960 in Menomonie, WI. Larry went into partnership with his father running the family dairy farm in Woodville where we raised 4 children. Greg, Terry, Suzanne & Mark.
Our favorite things to do together as a couple has changed over the years. When young, it was dancing, still would be if we were able! Now, in our later years, we love attending worship together. Going out to eat for a good lunch or supper. We enjoy sitting together on our sunporch everyday for our 10:00 a.m. coffee and cookies, where we share our thoughts together. Our favorite family vacations were all the years we spent going to Lipsie Lake for a week. After the kids were grown, we loved our Badlands vacation trips and New Ulm weekend getaways.
The best things in our marriage: our relationship and the love we have for each other, our growing faith in God. We are blessed with our children and their mates, our grandchildren and their mates and now great-grandchildren. We faced many challenges, as all couples will. We had a health issues, farming challenges, a fire that destroyed our combined shed, shop, granary and garage in our early marriage. My parents died when I was still a young mom. It was an awful time. In June 1993, our oldest son Greg died in a work accident. It was a devastating time, a parent’s worst nightmare. You do get through it, but it takes time and faith. We are closer to one another because we work through our grief and challenges together.
How do you get through 64 years of marriage? Be established in your faith as a couple, keep God at the center of your relationship. Express your love to one another everyday. Always show respect. Forgive. Pray daily for each other. Establish a weekly date night. Take some weekend vacations together. When you have children: attend worship together, take your children to Sunday school, teach your children to pray. Raise your family together, share the chores and discipline. Don’t interrupt when the other is speaking. Always show respect to your in-laws. The bottom line is LOVE!
Marriage Advice: Importance of our Faith in our Marriage:
A marriage is not an easy thing. To have a long-lasting marriage the couple needs God’s hand over it. God must be at the top of your relationship. We know because we have experienced how Satan works in his sly ways to break a marriage. It would be impossible without God. Pray for each other daily, respect each other, raise your family in the faith. The bottom line is faith, hope and LOVE!