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Wednesday, February 9, 2022

The Valentine Edition Messages of Love

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Read Valentines Day messages of love from local residents on page 4 and support your local businesses this Valentines Day by checking out their special sales and events below and on page 4.

To last a lifetime: Looking back on decades of love

Zoe Gottlieb / The Chronicle

The Nelsons say respect, patience, and laughter are the secrets to an enduring marriage. ZOE GOTTLIEB chronicle2@countrymedia.net

For St. Helens residents Dena and Joe Nelson, the foundation for a 60-year marriage started with a chance encounter and a game of pinochle. Dena and Joe were both 20 years old in 1962, living in Tacoma and taking courses at the University of Puget Sound when they met through mutual friends. “We met essentially in the student union building during dinner,” Joe said. “He asked me for a coffee date, and there was an art display going on on the campus,” Dena added, reminiscing on the moment that changed her life forever. “I love art, and he wanted to go to the art show. He was the first feller I had dated who was really honest and liked art.”

“We sat down to have coffee afterward, and I felt at home,” Dena said. Joe told The Chronicle it took a cascade of moments, rather than a single moment, to realize Dena was “the one.” “The moment?” Joe said. “Well, I think my moment(s) were before then because she used to tease me all the time. I wanted to go out with her but she went out with somebody else so I was really jealous.” “Finally, I asked for a date, so it was like ‘Ok. We can do this.’ So we did. We pretty much stayed together after that.” Joe said his and Dena’s differences are part of the glue that draws them together, but more importantly, “I like her. I not only love her, I like her too.” Joe achieved his Master’s

degree, but Dena had taken a hiatus from her education after she and Joe wed. Despite their whirlwind romance, Dena returned to school ten years later to finish her Social Science degree and took a job as an event planner, setting up trade shows and conventions. In 1972, Joe took a job opening at a lab, and the Nelsons moved to Columbia County. Dena, a city girl at heart, had a tough time with the transition at first, but one way or another, she stuck around, and they raised their four children - all boys - in St. Helens. Those four boys went on to have children of their own, also boys. The couple has since welcomed one greatgrandchild and three stepgrandkids, two girls and one boy, into the family fold. Joe and Dena Nelson are

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Courtesy photo

Shirley and Doug Walker share a kiss on their wedding day July 19, 1965.

now 79 years old and retired. They tolerate each other’s quirks - Dena is a late sleeper, according to Joe, and Dena swears by the fact that no one can break Joe’s concentration when he’s focused - as well as celebrate each other’s strengths. More importantly, Joe uplifts Dena when she needs it, and she returns the favor. When it was discovered Dena had brain tumors, without hesitation, Joe took over the household chores and continued to care for Dena. “We’re a team,” Joe said, which Dena affirmed. “I think that’s one of the philosophies that makes a long-lasting marriage, is your teamwork,” she said. The pair have done a lot of traveling together and made memories over the years, but for Dena and Joe, two specific memories come

to mind. “Sitting on a lanai in Hawaii and having breakfast as the sun comes up,” Joe said. “There’s so many,” Dena answered. “I think my best memory was waking up the morning after we were married, and we were together. It was such a comfort.” Doug and Shirley Walker On the evening of March 13, 1965, at a bar in Ventura, California, Shirley Paden was out to have a good time. What she didn’t know was she was about to have the dance of her life. “She was dancing, and right after the dance, we hit it off,” Husband Doug Walker said. “That was the beginning of it.” Doug said he instantly knew Shirley was the one. “I didn’t say much about

it for another one or two dates,” he said. “It took me quite a while to convince her.” “My buddy, he thought I was nuts,” he added. Shirley, too, was hard to convince. “When he first asked me to marry him, I said ‘no, get lost,” she said. Shirley admitted this was a test, and by sending him away, he could determine whether there was a doubt in his mind that he wanted to marry her. Doug returned a month later, steadfast in his love for her. The couple wed in July. Eighteen days later, he shipped off to Vietnam. With a chasm of geographic distance to separate them, Doug said he made Shirley promise to write to him every day. And she did. The Chronicle asked the pair what they like most about each other. “Beautiful, intelligent, as caring as a person could be. I just loved her right off the bat,” Doug said. Doug and Shirley explained the magic that keeps them together after 57 years of marriage. “I think actually to me, it’s everything he does,” Shirley said. “We have deep mutual respect, personally and emotionally,” Doug answered. Though the couple hasn’t been without the occasional spat, they have continuously stuck by each other’s side, with the encouragement of their respective families. Doug brought in a picture to The Chronicle of the two of them on their wedding day: he in his military uniform, she in her white gown, her hair done in white ringlet curls, a picture of Marilyn Monroe. “She was a very gorgeous bride,” he said, looking at her. “Still is.”

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News Advertiser Columbia County

Classifieds

Page 2

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Listings are updated daily at thechronicleonline.com

502

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Let everyone know with an ad in The Chronicle. Call 503-397-0116.

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Get your ad in the paper and reach out to potential customers. Its only $10 for 10 lines in print and online. Call 503-397-0116 to place a classified liner today!

2022

Saturday

$3 Admission At The Gate

Free tickets available at Th e Chronicle office 1805 S Columbia Blvd, St. He lens, OR

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April 23 10am - 5pm

Sunday

April 24 11am - 3pm

At The Columbia County Fairgrounds 58892 Saulser Rd. St. Helens, OR 97051 Dates subject to change or cancelation in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions PRESENTED BY

The Chronicle The Chief