Love Story: He quietly stole her heart

Kathleen Powers of West Islip talks about meeting her future husband, Tom, the strong, silent type.

In 1969 I was living in West Babylon with my friend Maureen Meade and her family. One summer day that year, Maureen’s dad said out loud, “You know who we should introduce Kathleen to? Tommy Powers from Brooklyn.”

I said, “No way. I really want to slow down the dating for a while. I don’t need to meet anyone else.”

Well, lo and behold, on July 12, 1969, Tommy Powers came to visit Maureen’s family. He had been serving in the Army in Vietnam and had returned home to Brooklyn a week earlier.

He was very handsome, at least in my eyes, and very gentlemanly — but very quiet. On the way to our first date, at The Skipper’s Inn in Lindenhurst, I asked him questions to engage him in conversation but got only one-word answers.

When Maureen asked me how the date went, I told her he really didn't talk much but was very nice. Tom and I continued dating. Although he was quiet, I began to observe his behavior. Tom would see things that needed fixing around the house and quietly take care of them, rarely telling anyone about it. We would discover these repairs on our own. Tom and I became much closer in a short time.

We became engaged in September 1969. (By the way, I frequently tell him he still has to ask me to marry him, because he never did. He just told me we were going to get married.) We were married Feb. 7, 1970, at Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church in West Babylon and had a reception at Olsen’s Inn in Massapequa. It was a beautiful 60-degree day with snow everywhere except sidewalks and roads. It was perfect.

We honeymooned at Penn Hills, a resort in Analomink, Pennsylvania, and returned home to start our life together. We had bought a house in West Islip before getting married (putting down a $5 binder). We ordered furniture (also with a $5 deposit), which wouldn’t be delivered for months.

I became very unhappy. My husband was working nights, and I was home at night alone in an empty house. When our furniture was finally delivered after three long months, the house started to become our home. We agreed that it was our starter home — and here we are, 50 years later, still in it.

Tom worked as a truck driver for Jet Air Freight at Kennedy Airport. I actually started working with him. After accompanying him to work a few times, the company hired me for a night-shift clerical position.

I stopped working shortly before our daughter, Denise, was born in January 1972. Our son, Thomas, was born in December 1974. Raising our family was our top priority.

As the years have gone by, our family has grown to include our son-in-law, Michael, and four wonderful grandchildren. Connor, Madison, Brendan and Thomas are our gifts from God.

Tom retired from his airport job in 1986 and started his own construction company. He operated that for 10 years before retiring permanently in 1997.

We plan to celebrate our golden anniversary with a family vacation to Aruba this summer. It doesn’t seem like 50 years have passed since I met this quiet young man. Our life together has had ups and downs, but neither of us would trade what we have built through these precious years for anything. Our love has endured, and we are very grateful for each other and all our blessings.

— With Ann Donahue-Smukler