Gerald Walker, 70, has been married to Mildred Viola Shinn Walker, 69, for 50 years. They have a son. A daughter is deceased.
They grew up together in Rockwell, although they didn’t notice each other when they were kids. On their first date, they went to a drive-in ó but don’t remember what was playing.
“I don’t think we looked at it,” Gerald says.
“We’ve always been happy,” Mildred says. “I think the good Lord looks down on us and helps us out.”
“We’re friends,” Mildred says. “We make decisions together. We always have.”
She believes it’s important not to go to bed mad at each other. “Try to talk things out,” she says.
“Marriage is a lot of give and take,” Gerald says.
Asked what he most appreciates about Mildred, Gerald says it’s just her “being her.”
“She can give a lot of love,” he says.
The only thing that’s driven Mildred a little crazy over the years is Gerald’s chewing tobacco habitó but she puts up with it, she says. As for what drives him crazy, Gerald says that Mildred is a workaholic, and he’s not. Mildred worked for 38 years in the mills, including many years after George had a heart attack and retired early. George would always have supper waiting for her when she worked, she says, and the house was clean.
Mildred and George believe couples today are too ready to bail out on a marriage that may not be perfect.
“Young people ó I wonder if they really take their vows serious,” Mildred says. “I think we did.”