Pat and Joe Dolgos to celebrate 50th wedding anniversary
By Pat and Joe Dolgos
For The Sun
We first saw each other coming out of church one Sept. Sunday morning in 1966. He was on one side of the street, I was on the other side. I looked over and he was looking at me. I was with my mother and I remember asking her, “Who is that?” She replied, “I think that’s the Dolgos boy.” I thought to myself, “wow, is he cute!”
He was on his way to visit his aunt who I knew from our bowling team. Two days later we actually met, thanks to Aunt Helen; she is now known as “Cupid.” He decided to come to the bowling alley and that was the start of a great romance. That night he taught me how to play pool and had a great conversation. I learned he was in the Navy for eight years and was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. We talked about everything and didn’t want the night to end. After that we talked about everyday via phone. He came home every chance he had.
Our first date was a Halloween party with friends. Of course, we had an awesome time and that lead to many more good times.
The first time I saw him in uniform was when he surprised me and came home a couple days earlier than expected. There he stood at the front door and I was thinking to myself how handsome he looked.
Our most romantic date at that point was at a wonderful restaurant called the “Captain’s Table.” We sat near the fireplace with light jazz music in the background. We had a great time. That night I knew I was going to marry him. The romance continued and one day he asked me to marry him and of course, I said yes. We married on Feb. 18, 1967.
Being married to a sailor was quite an experience. Traveling all over the country from coast to coast, and Hawaii too.
Joe stayed in the Navy for 21 years. We had a lot of long separations while he was at sea, sometimes six to seven months at a time. Even after returning home it seemed like such a short time he was back underway. It was tough being separated but a lot of prayers and the friendship of other wives in the same “boat” helped. We moved about every three years except one time it was within 11 months. Our last move was from Mayport, Fl. to Turnersville in Jan. 1977.
Our three sons were born in three different states. Our oldest, Christopher, was born at Naval Hospital Newport, RI. Patrick was born at Naval Hospital Portsmouth, VA. Thomas, our youngest, was born at Trippler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI.
We wrote to each other just about every day, and we still have the letters in a big box which we plan to go through next week as we celebrate our 50th anniversary on Feb. 18. As the boys grew, we also recorded tapes to each other so he could hear the boys and the boys him. We are very proud of our three sons, their wives and our awesome eight grandchildren.
Don’t know if there is any one thing that makes us stand out. Being in the military makes a person strong and when you have a loved one so far away from you, you must be strong to get through it all. We have been through so much over the years and always manage to keep a positive attitude.
A lesson to share for younger couples — tell your partner you love them, be kind to each other and treat them with respect.
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