Love Story: Bill and Dolores Tucker

Bill Tucker of Huntington recalls abruptly changing his views on marriage after meeting his future wife, Dolores.

In 1955, I was discharged from military service and moved from Kingston to Brooklyn to live with my sister Shirley and her family. I wanted to finish college, attend law school and achieve my dream of being a lawyer. Financial considerations made it mandatory to attend in the evenings.

I found a job with the Cunard Steamship Co. as an assistant cruise director on Caribbean cruises. I dated several ladies, and told them I was not interested in marriage. I thought it was fair to avoid ''wasting their time.'' One Saturday night, I ended a relationship for that reason.

The next day, my friend suggested we attend an afternoon CYO dance at the Statler Hilton in Manhattan. There, a pretty redhead caught my eye. It was Dolores Beaudoin. She was easily the prettiest girl at the dance, with long hair and a great figure. If there is such a thing as love at first sight, this was it. I remember telling my friend that was the girl I would marry.

I spent the evening monopolizing her time. We talked endlessly. She said she had been reluctant to go to the dance but was persuaded by her mother to go and keep her sister company. At the end of the evening, Dolores gave me her telephone number, written with a mascara pencil. I called her for a date.

Attending law school at night made dating fairly difficult, but we managed. I met with my study group every weekend in Copiague. That meant I had to scramble to get to Dolores' home in Manhattan. I was almost always late, but Dolores was always understanding.

The relationship prospered, and we got engaged. We married on June 10, 1961, at St. Jeanne the Baptiste Church in Manhattan. Dolores' brother, a priest, performed the ceremony. After a honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas, we settled in Brooklyn. We had three children before moving in 1971 from Flatbush to Huntington, where we still live. The kids are all married and have given us seven grandchildren.

I practiced law with firms in Brooklyn and Garden City for almost 40 years before retiring. For most of my career, I served as general counsel to several local savings banks.

Now at age 79, I keep a small office in Huntington where I practice law selectively and write books, just publishing my sixth. Dolores and I also own a half interest in Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, a San Francisco Giants Class A minor league baseball team in Oregon, that keeps me busy in a field I always loved.

Dolores has developed an extensive and very attractive garden, and keeps active cultivating her plants, moving and changing them. She also keeps busy being an outstanding grandmother.

This year, we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary at a group Mass of Celebration said by Bishop William Murphy and with a party at the former Panama Hatties in Huntington.

Fortunately, we are both in good health, still love one another and are looking forward to the next 50 years together. We count our blessings every day.