Area couples give their best advice for a long, happy marriage

Some people would say having a long, happy marriage takes a lot of work. How do some couples survive all of the “curve balls” life throws their way?

We asked some area couples who have been happily married for a long stretch of time to weigh in on the subject.

“You’ve got to learn to give in every once in awhile,” says Vilet Robert of Cape Girardeau. She and her husband, Melvin, have been married for 58 years. “You’ve each got to give in 50-50.”

On the subject of raising a family, Robert shares this: “You’ve got to teach them from the time they are little on up how to be good people. And, you’ve got to make them mind and listen to you.”

Working together has brought Joe and Mildred Kirchdoerfer of Cape Girardeau a lot of happiness over the years, according to Mildred.

Cutline:Gary and Wendy Rust are shown in their youth.Photo Credit/Stock Art:Submitted photo

“Try to spend as much time together as you can, and work together as much as you can as a team,” she says. “We’ve worked together on a dairy farm for 57 years, and we’ve been very blessed with good health to be able to do that.”

Kirchdoerfer shares that some of their kids and grandkids also help out on the farm.

“Our goal was to raise our family on the farm, and then give them a choice of what they wanted to do with their lives after college,” says Kirchdoerfer. “... Our two sons and some of our grandkids chose to come back and work with us on the farm.”

She also says worshiping together has been good for the couple’s marriage.

“We are of the same faith; we’re both Catholic, and we enjoy worshiping together.”

Gary and Wendy Rust of Cape Girardeau, who have been married for 61 years, share that trust has played an important part in their long marriage.

“Wendy and I have been married for 61 years and we both feel that trust is one of the key elements in our successful marriage,” says Gary. “It also doesn’t hurt that we love each other very much as we were married when Wendy was 19 and I was 20. Wendy is a very special person, and I am blessed to be her husband. We have shared many experiences over the years that have increased our appreciation for each other, and we have benefited from many friends and our six children.”