Jim and Marylou Furaus celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in the Chianti Room in PebbleCreek with special pickleball, golf, and longtime friends and family on Oct. 28, 2023. Jim was asked what the secret to being married for 60 years. Here are some of his comments.
“To reach a 60-year milestone, the first rule is that you must be older. Not old! Older! The good news is that we are blessed to be active and enjoying life. How did we make it this far? There are several reasons, including a little luck, having activities in common, supporting each other, staying active, modern medicine, and the Grace of God, not necessarily in that order. I think the beginning of our relationship is an important part of the story.
“We hit it off instantly as high school sweethearts. I found it was so easy to talk to her. I had been out with a few girls, but I was kind of shy and didn’t know how to talk with girls. It took me a while to realize the reason she was so easy to talk to was that she did all the talking.
Marylou and Jim Furaus
“One defining moment in our early relationship was on our third date. She informed me that if we continued to date and eventually get married that the kids would be raised Catholic, she wanted six kids, and she didn’t believe in divorce. I was okay with that, with some fear and reservation, but I told her I needed to get through college before I had kids. I tell this story because it illustrates that we were able to communicate what our values were at an early stage in our relationship. I didn’t realize it then, but it also was a pretty good clue as to who would be the boss down the road.
“Another important event happened when our youngest daughter Jennifer was just 1 year old, and Marylou was 31. Marylou had never had the opportunity to participate in organized sports activities in school or after we were married. But in 1975, a new 18 racquetball/handball facility was built in Albuquerque. I wanted to join to play handball, but I wouldn’t join without her. I begged her to come and look at the facility and try racquetball. I said I think you’ll like it. She liked it! Within a few months she had won her first C Tournament and eventually moved up to win the New Mexico State Open Championship. In 1998 she traveled to California for her first Women’s National Masters tournament. She surprised everyone when she won. Since then, she has won multiple National and International tournaments in singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
“Pickleball came to PebbleCreek in 2007 and a racquetball friend, Jeff Stone, convinced her to try it. She picked it up quickly and has won many local, state, and national tournaments. One of the guys at the golf pro shop once asked me how it felt to have a wife that is better than you in everything. I said, ‘I’m just pretty darn proud of her and happy for her! In the beginning, I was the jock, and she was the cheerleader. Now it’s the other way around!’
“For me, I’m certain that she’s the perfect wife and partner. The only problem with that is that she would like me to be perfect too. Ronald Reagen might have said it best when he said, ‘the perfect marriage is when two imperfect people never give up on each other.’
“To sum it up, we are truly blessed that we have common interests and values, unquestionable support for each other, good health, a wonderful family, three great kids who picked awesome spouses, five grandchildren that we cherish, and wonderful friendships throughout our life. Cheers to 60 years!”