Love Story: Their romance began at the high school prom

Marisa Brady talks about how she met her husband, Jimmy.

I was 17 years old and graduating from Oceanside High School in June 1978 — and I didn't have a date to the prom because I was shy and never had a steady boyfriend. My friend Sandy asked if I wanted to go on a blind date with her and her boyfriend, Scott, and his brother Jimmy, who was 21. She thought that if I liked him, I could ask him to the prom, which was to be at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, in Queens, a few days after graduation.

I agreed to go on the blind date, and my dad dropped me off at Jimmy Brady's house on Wanamaker Street in Oceanside. We all went to Nunley's in Baldwin, played miniature golf and then went to Howard Johnson's in Valley Stream for ice cream. After the date, Jimmy took me home in his 1970 red Buick Skylark convertible. I said "thank you" and "nice meeting you" — probably the most I talked all night though I liked him from the first time I saw him.

A week later, from a phone booth in my parent's restaurant, Pasetti's in Oceanside, I called to invite him to my prom. He said yes! The night of the prom, he brought me a beautiful pink corsage to wear. We danced and laughed all night. 

After the prom, we dated exclusively, and two years later Jimmy proposed to me on Oct. 13, 1980. It was a surprise to me, and I called all my friends to come over that night to my parents house to celebrate with us and my extended family.

Soon after, we began planning the wedding, which was Oct. 10, 1981, at St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church in Oceanside. My best friend, Dawn, was my maid of honor. Jimmy's brother Russ was the best man. We had 12 people in our wedding party; the reception was a sit-down dinner at La Grange in Islip. Our wedding song was "Endless Love," by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, and we reminisce about our wedding day whenever we hear that song. 

After we got married, we lived in Oceanside and both worked in our family businesses. I was a cook in Pasetti's, and Jimmy worked as an auto parts rebuilder and manager at Arrow Ignition in Brooklyn. I also had a dance/yoga studio in our home, and I worked with my brother Steve, catering and preparing lunch in a retirement home for Catholic nuns in Rockville Centre.

Jimmy and I were both active at St. Anthony's; at family Mass, we were eucharistic ministers, and Jimmy was in the Father's Club.

After both our family businesses closed, Jimmy worked a few jobs until he began working as a customer service rep at Sage Parts in Melville; he's continued to work for them from upstate Queensbury, where we recently moved. I teach at a local yoga studio and work as a part-time aide at Adirondack Enrichment's preschool.

Although I didn't date in my teen years, I know it was God's plan for us to meet. Jimmy is the most thoughtful, kind person I know. He is patient, easygoing and loving — qualities we see reflected in both of our children.

We recently celebrated our 42nd anniversary with a trip to New Hope, Pennsylvania. We love spending time with our two sons and their lovely wives and our four grandchildren. We feel blessed and look forward to many more years enjoying our life together with friends and family.

— With Lynn Petry