Love Story: They struck out on their first date

Edmond Iannuzzi of East Hampton talks about how he met his wife, Joanne.

I met Joanne in 1971 at Silver Edge on East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx. I was 23, and Joanne was 20. She was at Silver Edge because she had just won the Miss Bronx pageant on her way to the Miss New York State pageant. She was there with her sister, and I was there with my friends.

I took one look at Joanne and said to my friend, “I’m going to marry her.”

Because she was so beautiful, he looked at me and said, “No way.”

We were regulars at Silver Edge, so the management let me and my friends stay after hours to socialize. I noticed that Joanne was there, and we were formally introduced by a friend. I found out that we both lived in the Throgs Neck area, so I drove her home that night. On the way, I asked her out on a date to the batting range because we both played ball. She said yes, but for some reason that date never materialized. A couple of weeks later, I saw her again at Silver Edge, we started talking and from then on we began dating.

I was a teacher at IS 232 in the Bronx, and Joanne was an executive secretary in Manhattan and part-time model. On the weekends, we would go “clubbing” because Joanne loved to dance; we also went to the movies and, instead of going out, would babysit for our nieces and nephews.

We eventually stopped dating steadily, cooling down the relationship because I didn’t want to stand in the way of Joanne's modeling career. I had also been laid off from my teaching job, so I went to California to "figure things out." During that time, Joanne gave up modeling. While I was away, we realized we were meant for each other, so I returned to the Bronx. 

Joanne accepted my marriage proposal on the steps of the Pelham Bay Park entrance on her 21st birthday, July 16, 1972. We were married Aug. 27, 1972, at St. Benedict’s Church in the Bronx. Our reception was a sit-down dinner for more than 200 people at Chateau Pelham. Our wedding song was “Unchained Melody,” by The Righteous Brothers, and to this day, whenever we go somewhere, we ask the DJ or band to play it for us. We honeymooned at Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos.

For the first three years of our marriage, we made our home in the Bronx. Then I got a job in the family produce business in Huntington and Joanne worked as an underwriter in Farmingville, so we moved there and continued to grow our family.

We are both retired and built our new home in East Hampton. We have three wonderful children, their spouses and six grandchildren whom we love and who keep us on Long Island. Joanne is an amazing mother to our children and grandchildren; we remain proud that she completed her bachelor of science at Dowling College in 2002 while working full time and caring for our family.

For our 50th anniversary, our children are hosting a dinner at Mamma Lombardi’s, and the next day we are leaving for our honeymoon hotel, Mount Airy Lodge, now Mount Airy Casino.

Looking back, we definitely made the right move: We’ve been together for 50 happy years and look forward to the future. I say to the young folks, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, the years go by too fast. Enjoy your family — they should come first in your life.”

— With Lynn Petry