Blind date becomes love at first sight and 60-year marriage

Marilyn Moelis of Oceanside recalls the day she met future husband, Marvin.

On Jan. 3, 1953, I met Marvin on a blind date. His good friend had recently met my friend and they set up a double date with us.

We all went to see the film “Because of You,” at the Brooklyn Paramount, and then headed to Junior’s for ice cream and waffles. We were both 17. Marvin lived in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, and I was from East New York, Brooklyn.

Although Marvin claimed it was love at first sight, he didn’t call me until a month later. He was playing the French horn in his high school band and found the piece of paper with my phone number in his jacket pocket.

We started dating, and in June we both graduated from high school — I from Franklin K. Lane High School in Cypress Hills, and Marvin from Samuel J. Tilden High School in East Flatbush. In September, Marvin started classes at the University of Miami in Florida. We wrote to each other the entire year he was away, and I still have those letters.

We both knew right away that we were meant to be together. However, my future mother-in-law was totally convinced it wouldn’t last, and at family functions made sure I was posed at the edge of any photos taken so she could cut me out after our inevitable breakup.

Marvin transferred to New York University in Manhattan the following year, and we started going steady. On his 18th birthday, I threw a surprise party for him. All our friends were there. I gave him an ID bracelet that he still treasures to this day. He wore it to his 80th birthday party last year.

Our parents realized we were in a serious relationship when it came to the Jewish New Year. We are not allowed to ride in a car or a bus on Holy Days, so Marvin walked the five miles from his house to mine to be with me.

We became engaged in May 1955, but waited to get married until he finished school and started his career as a stockbroker.

On Sept. 8, 1957, we were married at the Brooklyn Jewish Center. Our wedding was a beautiful affair, and we have many fond memories of that day. The ceremony was conducted by the world-renowned Cantor Louis “Leibele” Waldman. When Marvin broke the glass at the end of the ceremony, a tradition in the Jewish faith, he pounced on it to make sure it was broken. We took a three-week honeymoon to Nassau in the Bahamas and Florida.

In 1962, we moved to our home in Oceanside. Our two children have blessed us with four grandchildren, and we consider our grandson’s wife our granddaughter.

Marvin joined Garden City-based Shearson Hamill & Co., now Morgan Stanley, in 1960 and still works for the firm. He enjoys playing the piano and says I am his best audience. He was active as a Little League coach and started the girls softball program in Oceanside. I enjoy crocheting and had my own business making yarmulkes for weddings and bar mitzvahs.

We celebrated our 60th anniversary recently with a family luncheon in Manhattan. Marvin and I also plan to take a cruise to Nassau in the Bahamas and Florida. We look forward to many more years together. The secret of our happy marriage is love, compromise, communication and being married to your best friend.

— With Virginia Dunleavy