When a husband and wife remain devoted to one another for seven decades, there’s usually something much stronger and long-lasting than just romance involved in their union.
After 65 years of marriage, Doyle and Colene Rich of South Jonesville Road plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day dancing at the Eagles Lodge in Columbus tonight.
While the wife admits that “fireworks are not as bright” at their age, there’s still an unmistakable twinkle in their eyes whenever the two talk with each other.
That twinkle, which apparently has been there since Harry Truman was in the final year of his presidency, had a unique start.
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In the spring of 1952, young Colene Willen was attending high school in Albany, Kentucky, about six miles from the Tennessee border.
At the same time, Doyle Rich was living in the town of Moss, Tennessee. Although the future couple lived less than 45 miles from one another as children, the two never met until fate brought them both to Bartholomew County.
After her high school let out for summer, Colene, then a teenager, agreed to come to Columbus to babysit the children of her sister, Juanita Malone, who had just begun working for a local manufacturer.
Within a short time of arriving in Columbus, the Kentucky teenager became acquainted with her sister’s next-door neighbor, Creola Littrell.
It wasn’t long until Creola informed Colene that her brother was coming late in the weekend to live with her and look for work in Columbus.
“I asked Creola how old her brother was, and whether he was good-looking,” Colene recalled. “Her reply was that he was 18 — and that he looks as good as most men.”
Creola’s words were enough to spark Colene’s curiosity and imagination. So much so that the teen found it hard to pull herself away from looking outside her sister’s bedroom window all Sunday morning, when the brother was scheduled to arrive.
When a car pulled up next door, Colene saw a thin and handsome young man get out of the backseat. As she kept looking at Creola’s brother, he “just seemed to keep getting taller and taller,” she said.
“I called Juanita and told her the best-looking guy I had ever seen was next door,” Colene said. “I told her I was going to marry that man.”
Juanita responded by telling her little sister that she was the biggest fool she had ever met.
Doyle said he was quite aware of the girl staring at him out of the window next door, he said.
“I remember thinking that I’d kind of like to get to know that gal,” he said.
Although they were formally introduced, both admitted they tended to get shy around members of the opposite sex. So neither Doyle or Colene were willing to engage in much more than neighborly chit-chat for the next two weeks.
But then, Colene was talking with another teenage female neighbor who admitted she was dying to meet Doyle. Since there was no relationship between the two, Colene agreed to take the neighbor over to Creola’s house to introduce her.
However, after the introduction, Doyle was far more than just shy. In fact, he barely said more than one word to the female neighbor.
When the neighbor left, Doyle took Colene by the hand and confided that she was the only girl he was interested in dating.
She felt the same way about him, but back in the early 1950s, men and women were bound by a strict set of courtship rules.
For that reason, Doyle courted Colene under the repeated pretense of asking to borrow her ironing board.
“He still tells everyone we courted across the fence with the ironing board,” Colene said.
But eventually, such pretenses were no longer necessary, Doyle said. On July 4, 1953, the couple were married in Tompkinsvllle, Kentucky, “and the fireworks began,” Colene said.
“For over 65 years, we have always had a great time together,” Doyle said.
Doyle Rich worked at the former Golden Castings for 42 years before he retired. While Colene worked for a number of employers, she was able to still put in 33 years of service at what is now what is now the Dorel Juvenile Group before retiring.
The couple has two grown daughters, Debbie and Donita, who still live in the area, as well as two granddaughters.
There have been challenging times, such as when three beloved family members all died in 1971. Colene said she is still mourns the death of her sister, Juanita, last year at the age of 90.
But despite the challenges, the couple remains committed to not letting any bad times keep them down, Doyle said.
“Every Saturday night, you will always find us dancing up a storm,” Colene said. “We can still out-dance any of them on the floor.”
