Notables
Area couples who have been married for 70 or more years:
73: Ed and Jeanette Malling, of Hamilton, Oct. 17, 1936
72: Roy and Claire Williams, of Monroe, Aug. 21, 1937
71: Wilbur and Margaret Reiter, of Hamilton, Oct. 20, 1938
71: Ormond and Thelma Elam, of Middletown, Aug. 13, 1938
71: Charlie and Lena King Coffey, of Miamisburg, Nov. 28, 1938.
71: Truman and Eva Condon, of Liberty Twp., Oct. 28, 1938
70: Raymond and Phyllis Nelson, of Hamilton, Aug. 26, 1939
70: C. Marvin and Ruth Carpenter, of Monroe, Oct. 13, 1939
70: The Rev. C. Marvin Brads and Della Victoria Higgins Brads, of Germantown, Sept. 16, 1939
HAMILTON — Ed Malling’s toughest critics — his girlfriend’s parents and the nuns at her Catholic high school near Cleveland — knew something about lasting love.
Ed Malling — a high school and college graduate — met Jeanette Rowe when she was a high school senior. Her parents didn’t take too kindly to her seeing an older man — by seven years, no less — but soon, that reluctance turned to respect.
Even the nuns approved of Malling.
“They all loved him,” Jeanette said.
No one more than her.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the Mallings celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary, a feat accomplished by few couples. They were married in 1936 in Parma, Ohio.
He didn’t even propose and never asked Jeanette’s father for his blessing.
“It just happened,” said Ed, 98.
“We started buying furniture and I think everyone knew,” said Jeanette, 91.
The Mallings, because of Ed’s leadership positions with General Electric and his teaching at Northern Kentucky University, have lived in numerous states. They have called Berkeley Square in Hamilton home for the last eight years.
During a recent afternoon, numerous residents and staff stopped and congratulated them on their anniversary, which they celebrated by dining in the complex’s Coach House Tavern & Grille.
Throughout the conversation, as they relayed a lifetime of stories together, Jeanette repeated: “I almost forgot about that one, Ed.”
For their honeymoon, they visited Niagara Falls, and Jeanette remembers the freezing temperatures and the heater not working.
“We had to cuddle,” Ed said.
“Ed!” she said.
They have two children who live out of state, six grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. When Jeanette said her children, Jim and Janice are 67 and 63 years old, respectively, she added with a smile: “That makes me feel old.”
When asked his key to a long, and happy marriage, Ed said, “give and take.”
Then he whispered, “Mostly give.”
“You always have to take care of the other person first,” he said. “My job today, and it always has been, is to take care of her.”
Can Jeanette see a day when she’s living without Ed?
“When God sees fit,” she said quietly, “I hope we both go together. I can’t see living without him.”
That brought a smile to Ed’s face.
“We still find fulfillment in life together,” he said. “Men’s Night Out holds nothing to me. If I could do anything, it’d be with her.”
No sense in changing now.
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