62 YEARS!! Can you believe that?! Joe and Sue have been married for 62 years and gosh, I just think that is SO beautiful. They have 24 GREAT grandchildren!! What a life together and what a legacy they have built and are continuing to build with each passing day.

We met these two (and their family — two of their grandchildren just happen to be a past bride and groom of ours!!!) last Friday up in Winneconne, WI. We had just the best evening getting to know them a bit better, catching up with old friends, and enjoying the breathtaking views at the lake house where we did some of the photos : ) I am super excited to share a glimpse into the life of Joe and Sue — so let’s get to it!!!

1. Where do you two live and what is one of your favorite things about your city?

We live in Vancouver, Washington. We love that we have four seasons and that we are only two hours from both mountains and sand at the beach. It’s a semi-rural area and we love that. We only live two miles from our church.

2. How did you two meet and how long have you been married?

According to Sue: We met at Spring Lake in Twin Rocks, OR. We were swimming and I was with a group of my girlfriends.

According to Joe: I saw her at the movie theater. She was standing outside waiting for a ride home from her dad because she worked there. I offered to give her a ride home and we stopped so I could buy her a coke at the soda shop. Her dad was upset that night because he had gone to the theater looking for Sue and she was with me. We have been married for 62 years.

3. Joe, what is one of your favorite things about Sue? Sue, what is one of your favorite things about Joe?

J: Her faithfulness and devotion to me, and that she is a Christian woman.

S: His forgiveness and faithfulness. He’s a one woman man.

4. What has been a day-to challenge of marriage that you weren’t necessarily expecting? How do you battle that challenge?

J: It’s a lot of give and take — it’s not 50/50, it’s 100%. If it wasn’t for the Lord, we would not be married today. We came to know the Lord at the same time and he has made all the difference. We got to His Word, which has the answers to almost any problem in life.

S: The anchor in our marriage is Jesus. We battle the challenges by going to Him and trusting in Him in the mountaintop experiences and in the valleys.

5. What is one of your favorite things about marriage? What do you love about it?!

J: Depending on one another.

S: He’s my best friend and my companion. I can talk to him about anything *(meanwhile Joe is laughing in the background and saying “sometimes”, HA!) 

6. What is the hardest thing (or one of) that you have experienced in your marriage? How did you overcome this trial and how has it helped you grow/flourish as a couple?

We dealt with some difficulties and in that time I (Sue) drew strength from our companionship. Joe persevered when I didn’t want to. I wanted out and wanted to abandon faith but he continued to be faithful and I drew strength from that and from the Lord. The Lord raised me back up.

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