Warsaw Couple Celebrate 70 Years Of MarriageFred and Pat Detwiler, Warsaw, will celebrate 70 years of marriage Saturday.
They were married Oct. 23, 1951.
The couple have two sons, one daughter, 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Pat said she met Fred a couple different times, saying they went to different schools. Pat said she dated a friend of Fred’s and she and Fred’s friend would go on the school bus to some of the athletic games. Fred was there sometimes and that’s when they first met, she said.
Pat and Fred had a first date because Pat’s friend, Mary, and Pat went with a couple guys that had a rumble seat in their vehicle.
“And they were really proud of it and they wanted us girls to see it,” Pat said. “So we went out to Concord School. And they used to have what they called free shows and they’d show them out on the side of the school, outdoors. And so, we watched it and, at the half, they had popcorn and stuff. The guys, we were just friends. Neither one of us were in love or anything, so they said, ‘So do you want refreshments or anything?’ and we said yeah. So they gave us money and we went to the refreshment place and there was Fred and his friend, Ozzy, and they were just hanging around up there and waiting to see what they could see. We started talking to them. It came time to go. Fred said he wanted to leave with me, and Ozzy said he wanted to go with Mary.”
For the Fourth of July, Fred and Ozzy asked if Pat and Mary wanted to see the fireworks at Rice Field with them.
Pat said they dated for about 4-1/2 years.
Fred said he was a carpet layer, only retiring a few years ago, being self-employed for a lot of the time. Pat said she did the paperwork for the business and took care of the home.
One of the things Fred and Pat attributed to their marriage lasting 70 years is God.
In October 1972, a lay witness mission came to their church. On Sunday morning, the couple that headed the group told their story and asked if anyone was willing to give their life over to God. Pat said she and Fred, as well as their college-aged and high school-aged boys, went up. Their daughter didn’t go up at the time.
“We all turned our lives over to the Lord,” Pat said.
Pat and Fred went on 70 missions over approximately 12 years. Fred said it was on the weekends. Pat said it started on Fridays and the group would have little meetings for different ages. Fred said it was something the church administration organized and you had to be invited to it, as it wasn’t something you could barge into.
As a self-employed carpet layer, in order to attend the missions, Fred would have to be home by noon Friday and there were some times the family really struggled to go.
Pat said they went all over Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Kentucky for the missions. She said it was presented as “God loves you and so do I.”
“I have to say the Lord has helped me through different times,” Pat said.
Fred said the timing was incredible for the group. Pat and Fred weren’t getting “along too well.” While he didn’t think divorce was imminent, they were struggling. Fred said it gave them a new lease on life.
He said while they don’t want to come across as “Christian crackpots,” he’s not ashamed of how or what they are. If someone asks, he said he’ll tell them.
You don’t argue too much when a good friend of Jesus is sitting next to you, Fred said.
They are both very strong-willed people, Fred said. “And I won’t say we don’t have some pretty heated discussions every now and then because we have.”
Fred’s idea is, and he picked it up from Dr. Phil on television, “there’s got to be a hero.” If there’s a hero, it’ll usually take care of things. By saying you’re wrong or the other person is right, it’ll usually settle things down.
One piece of advice Fred had for people who aren’t married or haven’t been married that long is don’t rush it.
“You know so much of life happens,” he said. When he looks back at things, he wonders how or why an event happened. You recognize what happened but at the time you don’t. Fred said his advice would to relax and enjoy it day by day.
Fred also said to make sure to get the right one.
“If you can’t live without them, that’s the one,” Fred said.
Fred said to stay young as long as possible.
Pat said to have outside interests outside the marriage. She said she got into painting, as well as teaching Sunday school for 20 at two different churches.
