6 Long Island 'golden' couples give advice on ever-lasting love

Decades of marriage and the lessons that come with them took center stage at Cona Elder Law’s fourth annual Lasting Love Valentine’s Dinner, held on March 3.

Seventeen couples, each married at least 50 years, gathered at Verona Ristorante in Melville for the free dinner hosted by the Melville law firm.

From chance encounters to second chances, these “golden couples” have different love stories, but their advice for the younger generations is largely similar: commitment, patience and communication matter most. Here, six of them share their words of wisdom with Newsday.

Married 61 years

Nancy and Bob Cona, of Commack

Nancy, 83, and Bob, 85, parents of the law firm’s founder, Jennifer Cona, met nearly 70 years ago, when he was her family’s paper boy.

Though they lived on the same street and attended elementary school together, redistricting separated them and they lost touch.

Years later, during Bob’s college days, he spotted Nancy while driving and decided to reconnect.

“And the funny thing was we had a really good time, [and] I wrote a letter to her,” Bob reminisced.

He didn’t hear back for weeks.

“In the middle of October, I finally got a letter from her; she had two mailboxes and I didn’t realize it,” he explained.

The two reconnected once more — and as Bob put it, “the rest is history.”

Now with two children and four grandchildren, the couple said communication is key.

Nancy added, “You have to find your soulmate.”

51 years

Frank and Jeanne Wing, of Old Bethpage

While Frank, 76, and Jeanne, 73, met at a bar in 1971, they had crossed paths at Farmingdale State College (then the Agricultural and Technical College at Farmingdale).

“We were in extra-help classes together,” Jeanne said with a laugh.

She went up to him at the bar and teased him about an upcoming test.

“You should be home studying, you shouldn’t be here at a bar,” she told him.

“Well you should too,” he replied.

They talked all night, went out the next evening and never really stopped. Now with three children and seven grandchildren, the Old Bethpage couple said flexibility is essential.

“It’s not always sunshine and rainbows,” Jeanne said. “You have to muddle through all of the hard times.”

Their advice: Don’t give up too quickly. Work through problems instead of walking away.

52 years 

Marilyn and Ken Watson,of Albertson

The Watsons said they exemplify the adage “opposites attract.”

Marilyn, 75, said she was straitlaced, while Ken, 73, was more rebellious.

“I always told his mother I saved him,” Marilyn, a retired teacher’s aide, joked.

Still, she said shared values — especially around spirituality — matter. And not everything needs to be serious.

“You don’t have to agree all the time,” added Ken, a retired electrician.

Marilyn appreciates Ken’s humor and his ability to let go of anger quickly. She admits she can hold onto it longer.

Ken praised Marilyn’s knowledge, personality and the fact that she is a good mother.

“And she [is] cute too,” he said.

They met at a Christmas party in 1971.

Ken asked her out for New Year’s Eve but she said she already had a date planned. However, he eventually won her over.

“I thought he was a good dancer, and he was cute,” Marilyn said.

Ken took Marilyn to see the rock band Bread, and introduced her to other famous groups from the ’70s, including the Strawbs, Renaissance and The Moody Blues.

The couple has two children and one granddaughter.

68 years

Phil and Mary Pucci, of Plainview

Phil, 98, said he met Mary, 93, at the beach while “flexing my muscles.”

They dated for a bit, then broke up when Phil went to serve in the Korean War and Mary got engaged to someone else. Mary broke off the engagement, and they reconnected, although neither remembered quite how.

Mary’s advice: “You have to have a lot of patience” and “bend sometimes.”

“When the bad times are there, you still have to hang in there,” she said.

Phil added: “You gotta love one another. Then it works,”

“Everything runs smooth after that,” he said.

The Plainview couple has four children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

63 years

Mary and Wayne Wagner, of Plainview

Mary and Wayne, both 83, met in junior high school and began dating in high school, but they broke up after graduation.

They reconnected while Mary was at Colby College in Maine, and Wayne at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.

“I called Mary and said, ‘Hey, you want to go to the movies?,’ and we went to see ‘Peyton Place,’ ” Wayne recounted.

“And as we were sitting there in the movie, Mary put her arm around me and said ‘wait till you see this part,’ ” Wayne said. He said he realized Mary had already seen the movie but wanted to spend time with him, which “made me feel good.”

They got engaged during a Christmas break and wed after graduation.

Wayne said they have had “a very good marriage,” grounded in respect and devotion.

“When you get married, make sure that you [are] following the fact that you are devoted to each other for the rest of your lives together, and you have to learn to go through the good times and the tough times together,” he said.

The Wagners have two sons and five grandchildren.

72 years 

Fred and Fran Floersheimer,of Plainview

Fred, 94, and Fran, 91, have known each other since they were in their early teens.

The pair would go out dancing in a group as Fran wasn’t allowed to date. They became a couple in their late teens.

They married before Fred left to serve overseas.

“We were engaged already, and we had set a marriage after the military. . . . We were in love,” said Fred.

Fred credited his and Fran’s parents — “who set a good example” as to what a marriage should look like — for their success. Their shared religious values also played a role.

The Plainview couple has four children, including a daughter who recently turned 70, along with eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.