Love always: Couples share how they met and fell in love, and their secrets to a long, happy marriage

50 years

Clif and Sally Crosnoe

Married Aug. 31, 1963

Clif and Sally Crosnoe met at Lake Wappapello and started dating soon after. Clif was almost 21 and had just gotten out of the Navy; Sally was only 16.

"It was one of those things where I had to go and meet her parents and get accepted, and rightly so, because I was almost five years older than she was," Clif recalls. He lived in Cape Girardeau and she lived in Sikeston, Mo., and they traveled old U.S. 61 to see each other before the interstate was built. The two dated throughout college, often going to the movies, dances at Clif's fraternity and talking for hours at each other's houses. They had a lot in common, and it was "love at first sight," at the time, they say.

"No. 1, he was older. No. 2, he was a hunk. No. 3, he was a water skier. And No. 4, he was a good kisser," says Sally.

The pair married before Clif's last semester at the Missouri School of Mines (now Missouri University of Science and Technology) in Rolla, Mo.

"Quite frankly, that was the best semester I ever had at school," he says.

They moved 22 times in their marriage, traveling all over the country for Clif's construction work. Their two sons were born while living in Denver, and they now have two grandchildren, ages 13 and 15.

The Crosnoes have since settled back in Cape Girardeau, where Clif works at Bethany Baptist Church and Sally is active as well, singing in the choir, volunteering in the church office and serving with the homebound ministry. The couple say their faith is what makes their relationship so strong.

"Well, I'm very partial -- it's through Jesus Christ that we have been married this long," says Clif. "We're both saved and lived a Christ-centered life our whole married life."

The couple likes to travel -- especially to Texas, where their children and grandchildren live -- and Clif also takes mission trips, most recently to El Salvador. And, they love to play with their two schnauzers, which they admit are like children to these empty-nesters.

"Whenever we do anything, we generally do it together -- except shopping. She does not want me to shop with her. I'm not a good shopper," Clif laughs.

He and Sally agree that marriage must be an equal partnership: If one person decides to give only 50 percent, the relationship is not going to work.

"You each give 100 percent. There is no 50/50," says Clif.

Chip and Nancy Janet (Laura Simon)

60 years

Chip and Nancy Janet

Married June 13, 1953

Nancy was only 20 when she married Chip Janet, and she remembers asking her mother if she was doing the right thing on her wedding day.

"All these years have gone by, so I guess I have done the right thing," she smiles now.

She and Chip grew up together in Perryville, Mo., just a year apart in school. When one of Chip's friends started dating one of Nancy's friends, it wasn't long until they became high school sweethearts, too.

"She was a cute little girl," says Chip.

Adds Nancy, "We got along really well. We were very compatible, and we grew on one another."

After Chip graduated from high school, he enlisted in the Navy and was gone for 18 months, mostly in the Aleutian Islands. He and Nancy wrote each other daily, and when he returned, he and Nancy picked up right where they left off. When Chip was assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago, the two got married and lived there for two years, having their first baby on base. They had three more children after moving back home to Perryville, and later moved to Cape Girardeau to be closer to Chip's job at Auto Tire and Parts. Today, the couple has 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, and one of their favorite things to do together is attend the kids' sports and recitals.

"We really feel blessed with our family and grandchildren," says Nancy.

The Janets say they took their wedding vows seriously, and even when they encountered hardships, they clung to together and were closer as a result of it.

"We listened to the vows when we got married -- 'until death do us part,'" says Chip. "And we never had any big arguments."

Shirley and Freeman Sebastian (Laura Simon)

60 years

Freeman and Shirley Sebastian

Married Aug. 23, 1953

When Freeman Sebastian first met his future wife, he thought she was just a kid -- she was maybe 10 or 11 at the time, and he was in high school. Shirley felt a little differently.

"He was the most handsome guy I had ever seen," she says.

Freeman and Shirley both attended Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tilsit, Mo., and they were always friends, often hanging out together in groups. Eventually they became an item, and the group outings turned into double dates to the movies, roller-skating, dancing and going out for hamburgers.

"Everyone knew I was Freeman's girl," says Shirley.

Freeman was in the Army for two years, and he and Shirley wrote letters to each other the whole time he was away. He returned home in May 1953 and they got married in August -- he was 24 and Shirley was just 17. Their son was born about a year after they got married, followed by two daughters.

Today, the Sebastians also have five grandchildren, including two who were adopted from Guatemala -- and the Sebastians have traveled to Guatemala multiple times. They also like vacationing in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., and they still attend the same church where they said their vows 60 years ago.

"It goes by so fast," says Shirley. "We've had a good life. God's been good to us."

A good marriage takes lots of work, as well as compromise and a commitment to taking care of each other, they say.

"We don't always see eye to eye, but we forgive and forget," says Freeman.

Verda and Rip Schnurbusch (Laura Simon)

65 years

Ruben "Rip" and Verda Schnurbusch

Married Oct. 23, 1948

Rip and Verda Schnurbusch met as kids at St. Joseph Church at Apple Creek, but they didn't start dating until after Rip returned from three years in the Army. Their romance grew over dates to the movies, the bowling alley and frying chicken at Apple Creek. They were engaged for six months before marrying at 8 a.m. on Oct. 23, 1948 -- early-morning nuptials were the norm back then, says Verda. She was 20 on her wedding day, and Rip was 26.

"I remember the priest said, 'Ruben, the side door is open if you want to leave,'" says Ruben. "After the ceremony, he said, 'Ruben, I just locked the side door.'"

The couple started out with humble beginnings, renting two rooms in an old house across the street from the Schnurbusch Store. They paid $25 a month for rent, and they had no electricity.

"We didn't have anything in those days, so we bought what was most important, until gradually we could do more," says Verda. "You've got to have some give and take, you know what I mean?"

Couples didn't give up on each other back then, says Verda, and she and Rip weren't about to, either -- although Rip likes to joke that "she wore out two rolling pins on me."

Rip sold eggs and worked at the family store after the war, then worked at a rock quarry for 28 years until he retired. The couple had five children, who all still live nearby. They also have 14 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren.

Fred and Helen Moyers (Laura Simon)

70 years

Fred and Helen Moyers

Married Feb. 6, 1943

Fred and Helen Moyers of Cape Girardeau have been checking each other out since high school. At the time, a new school was being built in their hometown of Mounds, Ill., so high school classes were condensed and held in the elementary school building. Helen, a sophomore, and Fred, a senior, were in the same room and "kept looking at each other," they recall. Finally, Fred "got up the nerve" to ask Helen on a double date with another couple from their class. They went on a boat ride on the Ohio River and danced the night away.

"I thought I was over my head," says Fred. "She had freckles and red hair and she swept me off my feet. She was a couple years younger than me."

When Fred got news that he was being drafted overseas for World War II, the young couple piled into a '37 Ford Coupe with another couple from school, drove to Cape Girardeau and eloped -- they didn't even tell their parents until after the deed was done. When the newlyweds, ages 17 and 19, arrived back in Mounds, Helen's mother was making clothes in the dining room and her father was listening to the "Grand Ole Opry" on the radio.

"I was scared to death," says Helen. "I went in and handed her the marriage license and she said, 'Mark, come in here and see what these kids have done.'" Helen's father, preoccupied with his radio show, didn't have much to say. Her mother, deciding there was no use crying over something that was already done, "stuck out her hand and said congratulations to Freddy," says Helen.

In their younger years, the Moyers danced every Saturday night in Metropolis, Ill., mastering everything from the waltz to the hustle. "Everybody liked to watch Freddy and I dance," says Helen.

The Moyers don't dance much anymore, but "We still keep the beat," says Fred, who also plays the guitar, harp, harmonica and several other instruments.

The Moyers start every day with Bible study and prayer, then eat lunch, play cards and visit with others at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center, or the "Senior Citizens Country Club," as Fred likes to call it. They have two children, Emily and Brian, plus four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Helen says the key to a long and happy marriage is to find a good man like Fred, and to take care of each other for life. "He's out of this world. ... We've had a good time," she says.

Adds Fred, "We have the same signals. She and I are on about the same wavelength. I know where she's coming from and she knows where I'm coming from. Our love gets stronger every day."