Couple hides love for 72 years

[pixy0stix]

www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/09/22/inspiration-nation-couple-marries-after-72-years/16062399/

A wedding took place in early September in Iowa. But it wasn't just any ordinary wedding, it was a wedding between two people who have been together for 72 years and finally made it official. Two women, Vivian Boyack and Nonie Dubes, who have loved each other since 1942.



For so long, these two women kept their love private. Dubes recalls how she was struck the first time she saw Boyack when they were students at Iowa State Teachers College.



"I could tell you exactly what she had on. A gray dress with black velvet trim and big pearl buttons," remembers 90-year-old Dubes.



After a fateful move brought Boyack to Dubes' town, the pair met and quickly hit it off.



"What then?" they were asked.



Silence.



"This is difficult for us to talk about," admits Boyack.



"No one knew what was happening. We didn't even know it was anything special. I was just drawn to her. That's all," says Dubes.



"The hand of God was there. Suddenly, we were in love," Boyack explains.



From that day forward, they felt like they were in hiding. For 72 years, these two women lived together like a typical married couple, one doing the cooking, the other the yard work, all the while looking like two average female roommates to outsiders.



Their lives remained the same, even after the 2009 court decision that made same-sex marriage legal in Iowa. The two women admit they didn't give marriage a second thought until their friend, Jerry Yeast, came to visit.



The women confessed that Yeast was the first person they had ever talked to about their relationship.



"I was dumbstruck," he says. "I kind of blanked out, until I said, 'My gosh, this is Iowa! You should get married.'"



Thanks to him, Dubes and Boyack finally began to consider marriage. For years, the women had held back, wanting to keep their private life to themselves. After much deliberation, they decided to take the step and get married.



The pair finally exchanged their vows, perched in their wheelchairs, at their local church. More than 30 people gathered to witness the ceremony that would further bind these two women together.



While Boyack and Dubes admit they have taken a big step in their relationship, they joke that even a wedding can't change their relationship.



"The only difference is we know it's legal and nobody can do anything about it," Boyack says.

[litebright]

What a neat story. My favorite part, though, was: "My gosh, this is Iowa!"

[elleblue]

(heart)

[orangeblossom]

This makes me smile.

[penguingrrl]

What a sweet story. A huge congratulations to them!

[heyjude]

Um. Tears. Thanks.

[WOT?*]

[compassrose]

This is very very sweet. And so sad they kept it a secret so long.

[bugandbibs]

72 years?! That's impressive for any couple.

[sushi]

I once had a patient in her 80s with a broken hip. Her "roommate" was there tenderly taking care of her. They thought I was the best nurse ever.

Which made me sad. It means they'd been judged before. Whereas i was all "that's sweet you brought cozy socks for her and put them on her. My roommates wouldn't have thought of that" No, i didn't say that because i obviously knew they were more than roommates. But that was their story, and i respected that.

[forreals]

72 years! Congratulations to them. <3

[lauralala]

This is so sweet, but so sad that they had to hide for so very long.

[aurora]

I can see how it would be hard to make the decision to get married after making a life under the old rules for so long. One of H's relatives finally married her (female) partner a few years after it was legalized in their state, but took a fair amount of convincing not because of a lack of commitment but because of the emotional separation she'd put between herself and the institution of marriage over the many years they weren't allowed.

This is a great story, though, in any case.

[underwaterrhymes]

What a beautiful story. It's sad they had to keep it under wraps, but it's also clear they haven't let bigotry and discrimination keep them from loving each other.

[rosebud]

That's so cool...