Join WhatsApp Channel
Join Telegram Channel
KCCI EIGHT NEWS AT SIX. A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO AN AGE OLD QUESTION. WHAT’S THE SECRET TO A LONG, HAPPY MARRIAGE? IT’S A GOOD THING WE HAVE A COUPLE OF EXPERTS JOINING US, RIGHT, TO TELL US. KCCI. ALYSSA GOMEZ INTRODUCES US TO THIS BEAUTIFUL IOWA COUPLE. DONALD AND KAREN, WHO JUST MIGHT HAVE THAT ANSWER. DONALD DODD WAS A YOUNG MAN SERVING IN THE KOREAN WAR. WHEN ONE DAY, HIS EYE CAUGHT A GLIMPSE OF HIS FUTURE. AND IT CHANGED HIS LIFE FOREVER. I SAW HER PICTURE IN ANOTHER GUY’S WALLET, AND I THOUGHT I KNEW ALL THE GIRLS IN BOONE, BUT I NEVER, NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE THAT PICTURE. A YOUNG KAREN FROM BOONE. SO HE WROTE HER A LETTER AND SHE ANSWERED. BUT HESITANTLY, I DID. I FELT SORRY FOR HIM, BUT UPON RETURNING FROM WAR, SHE FELL HARD. HE WAS SO MUCH PRETTIER THAN ELVIS PRESLEY. AFTER SEVERAL DATES AROUND TOWN AND TO THE ROLLER RINK, DON MADE A MOVE. YOU KNOW, I WAS NOT USED TO ANYBODY HOLDING ME DOWN OR ANYTHING ELSE. AND IT WAS A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO GET USED TO, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING I WANTED TO GET USED TO, YOU KNOW, AND THIS WAS THE WOMAN THAT I JUST MET AND COULDN’T LEAVE ALONE. HE CORNERED ME ON THE BACK PORCH AND HE SAID. WELL, I WANT TO GO STEADY WITH YOU ON A PORCH OF A HOUSE IN BOONE. HE POPPED THE QUESTION, AND EVER SINCE THEN, IT’S AS IF DONALD AND KAREN WON THE LOTTERY. SEVEN DECADES LATER, THEY SIT SIDE BY SIDE IN THAT SAME HOUSE, CELEBRATING SEVEN DECADES OF WEDDED BLISS ALONGSIDE SEVEN BEAUTIFUL KIDS. AND WE JUST WANTED TO BE IN IOWA. WE THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD PLACE TO RAISE KIDS. SEVEN KIDS, 22 GRANDKIDS, 25 GREAT GRANDKIDS AND ONE GREAT GREAT GRANDCHILD. LATER, THOSE IOWA ROOTS HAVE BLOSSOMED INTO THEIR GREATEST LEGACY. THEIR FAMILY. AND WE REALLY HAVE KIDS. THEN RICHES. YOU KNOW, SO THAT’S WHAT WE DID. WE PUT EVERYTHING IN TO OUR FAMILY AND THEY PROUDLY SERVE AS AN EXAMPLE FOR EACH OF THEM. IT’S THE BEST WAY TO SHOW WHAT A REALLY GOOD MARRIAGE IS, IS BY EXAMPLE. SHE’LL STOP AND SHE’LL KISS HIM GOODBYE EVERY SINGLE TIME. SO WE ASKED DONALD AND KAREN, WHAT IS THE SECRET TO A LONG, HAPPY MARRIAGE? BE PATIENT. BE KIND. TELL EACH OTHER EVERY DAY THAT YOU LOVE THEM
While sitting among comrades in the Korean War, Donald Dodd caught a glimpse of a picture of a girl in another soldier’s wallet.That moment changed his life forever.”I thought I knew all the girls in Boone, but I’d never seen her before,” said Donald Dodd.That girl was Karen. He wrote her a letter from Korea. She wrote back, and their love story was born.When Donald returned to Boone, Iowa, he tracked her down. It took some persuading, but Karen agreed to go on a few dates. It didn’t take long for the two to fall in love. Donald says he was a wild young thing, but Karen made him want to be a better man.”You know, I was not used to anybody holding me down or anything else, and it was a little difficult to get used to … but it was something I wanted to get used to, you know, And this was a woman that I just met and couldn’t leave alone,” said Don.He popped the question.”He cornered me on the back porch, and he said, ‘Well, I want to go steady with you,'” said Karen. Shortly after, the two were married.That was 70 years ago.Today, they live in the same house in Boone, where Donald asked for her hand all those years ago. They still crack jokes at each other. They still hold hands. So many years have passed them by but their love has never faded.The two decided Iowa would be a good place to raise a family, and that’s exactly what they did. Their love has blossomed across generations … seven kids, 22 grandkids, 25 great-grandkids and one great-great-grandchild, to be exact.”We’d rather have kids than riches, you know? So that’s what we did. We put everything into our family,” said Donald.We asked the youngsters the age-old question, “What’s the secret to a long, happy marriage?”With her hand in Donald’s, Karen answered.”Be patient. Be kind. Tell each other every day that you love them.”
While sitting among comrades in the Korean War, Donald Dodd caught a glimpse of a picture of a girl in another soldier’s wallet.
That moment changed his life forever.
“I thought I knew all the girls in Boone, but I’d never seen her before,” said Donald Dodd.
That girl was Karen. He wrote her a letter from Korea. She wrote back, and their love story was born.
When Donald returned to Boone, Iowa, he tracked her down. It took some persuading, but Karen agreed to go on a few dates. It didn’t take long for the two to fall in love. Donald says he was a wild young thing, but Karen made him want to be a better man.
“You know, I was not used to anybody holding me down or anything else, and it was a little difficult to get used to … but it was something I wanted to get used to, you know, And this was a woman that I just met and couldn’t leave alone,” said Don.
He popped the question.
“He cornered me on the back porch, and he said, ‘Well, I want to go steady with you,'” said Karen. Shortly after, the two were married.
That was 70 years ago.
Today, they live in the same house in Boone, where Donald asked for her hand all those years ago. They still crack jokes at each other. They still hold hands. So many years have passed them by but their love has never faded.
The two decided Iowa would be a good place to raise a family, and that’s exactly what they did. Their love has blossomed across generations … seven kids, 22 grandkids, 25 great-grandkids and one great-great-grandchild, to be exact.
“We’d rather have kids than riches, you know? So that’s what we did. We put everything into our family,” said Donald.
We asked the youngsters the age-old question, “What’s the secret to a long, happy marriage?”
With her hand in Donald’s, Karen answered.
“Be patient. Be kind. Tell each other every day that you love them.”
Source
#Couple #celebrating #years #shares #secret #long #happy #marriage