“Separate bathrooms.” At least that’s what Marian Goldner quips when asked how her marriage to Leo Goldner has lasted longer than many area residents have been alive.
Ask Leo, and he’s likely to simply proclaim, “I love her dearly.”
The lovebirds, both Vi at Aventura residents, may be 95 years old, but their affection for each other is as fresh and young as when they were married 75 years ago. The couple met at a dance shortly after they graduated from high school in Toledo, Ohio.
For Leo, it was love at first sight. “I was electrified. It was magic,” he recalls.
Not quite so for Marian, who considered Leo back then as “just another boy.”
As it turns out, Leo never stopped pursuing Marian and, eventually, his persistence won out.
As a lieutenant in Manila after World War II, Leo decided to host a Passover Seder for soldiers and civilians. Against all odds, he brushed past every obstacle, ultimately hosting more than a thousand people at a Manila Seder.
It’s the sort of persistence that won Marian over. While home on a three-day leave from the Army, Leo and Marian were wed. Today they have four children, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
The couple initially lived and worked in Ottawa Hills and Toledo, Ohio, but have been residents of Vi at Aventura for the past 15 years. On July 10, they hosted a 75-year celebration at Vi at Aventura that included jokes by Marian, a hypnosis seminar from Leo, and a comedian named “Sarge.” By all accounts, it was a blast.
Much like the active lifestyle the Goldners enjoy at Vi at Aventura. They go out to dinner in Aventura together three nights a week and are a big part of the Vi community.
It’s rare that the Goldners are ever seen apart from each other. According to their daughter, Janet Goldner Killam, her parents have similar interests and, “They do everything together.”
Ask Marian what’s the best part of being married to Leo and she’ll tell you, “His sense of humor. His generosity.” As for Leo: “The best part is that she is just a wonderful person.”
Congratulations, Marian and Leo, on 75 years of wedded bliss!