MEMORIES, TRUE LOVE, AND 59 YEARS

Norman and Louise   1941

On June 4, 1942 Norman had just received a 3 day pass and arrived in Birmingham, Ala. in the evening.  Louise was attending a bridal shower being thrown to celebrate her upcoming marriage. 
All the ladies in their family were at the party.  Most of the men were either off stationed out of town in the military or home in bed.  Both of my grandfathers were home in bed.  My father (Norman) arrived at my grandfather Nelson's house and found out mother (Louise) was at the party.  He headed to the party and found Louise and told her if they were going to get married before he shipped over seas, it had to be tonite. Thus started the hunt for licences, a preacher, the fathers of the bride and groom. A friend of Grandfather Nelson was a detective for the Birmingham Police dept and knew a clerk in the marriage license dept. and they got the clerk out of bed to issue a marriage license to the bride and groom. The preacher was rounded up and my parents got married at her bridal shower. There were no pics at 11.  In all the excitement no one thought about a camera.  It didn't matter.
After a 2 day honeymoon at the Tutwiler Hotel in downtown Birmingham my father reported back to his squadron and not much later he departed for Italy and the shooting war. 
That marriage lasted until July 29, 2000 when my father died.  Sometimes my mother said she felt like she had been married all her life.  They had their ups and downs (my mother was a redhead) but overall I believe my parents were deeply in love.  They were not very demonstative in front of my brothers and me, I think it was a old fashion feeling to them.  They were devoted to each other and neither one could not go more than several days without the other one.  When Mother and I would go out to work craftshows, she couldn't wait to get back and Daddy would meet us at the door wanting to know what took us so long to get home.  I believe my mother pined away after Daddy died.  She honestly didn't know what to do without him.  She just slowly faded away.  Fifty nine years together was just too long to start a new life.  She never looked at another man after my father died. I honestly don't believe it ever crossed her mind. She died in 2005.
 I read recently some of their old letters to each other before and after marriage.  True love NEVER dies.
God Bless all of you.
Mary