COMANCHE CO., Okla_ James and Virginia
Dungan from Comanche
County have been married
for nearly 72 years. They agree it takes hard work for a marriage to be
successful.
He's 90, and she's 88. They respect and honor each other just like they
did the day they said "I do." They married June 7th, 1941. She was 16 and
he was 18. James described their life together in one word: "Wonderful."
Now, that doesn't mean they've never had any problems. It just means they
respected each other and worked through the problems whenever one came along.
He chose her more
than seven decades ago. To this day, he is proud she said yes.
"I thought,
‘Now that's the one I want right there, because she'll make me a good hand,"
James said.
That's exactly
what Virginia
has been to James: his right-hand woman. Even when it meant she had to get her
hands dirty baling hay.
"He needed
help," Virginia
said," "And that's what we were doing for a living. We were farming. I thought
that was part of my job."
In return, he
helped her by doing stuff around the house. They've worked together since day 1.
They've been working together around the house and on their marriage.
"We just
always respected each other, you know?" Virginia said. "That's just what we wanted
to do."
That respect
carried over, even when they had their disagreements.
"Well,
just both of us hushed," Virginia
said, "Before it went any further."
The Dungans
also understand the meaning of partnership.
"She never
had her money," James said. "I never had my money. We had our money. If we had
5 dollars, we both had it."
Their
selflessness has set and is setting quite the example for the rest of the
family.
"Those
people in there are the epitome of what marriage should be," said Ericka
Carmon, James and Virginia's
granddaughter. "They've helped each other through everything for 72
years."
So, the Dungans
have built a life, a home, and a family that loves them dearly, but what's the
real secret to their success?
"He will
even wash dishes," Virginia
said.
That must be why
they are still valentines all these years later. Even though she is legally
blind, Virginia
still cooks for him. In return, he vacuums the house. When 7News asked them
what they got each other for Valentine's Day, they both replied "Nothing. We
have each other."
