Love Story: He stole her pencils, then she stole his heart

Ed Tyler of Bay Shore talks about meeting his wife, Anne.

Our love story started in 1960. I was 10 and had just been booted out of St. Aloysius School in Great Neck for getting into too many fights. Unfortunately, my five siblings were shown the door with me. The next day, there we were, the six Tyler children walking down the halls of Levittown’s Wisdom Lane Elementary School.

I slid into Mr. Dahill’s fourth-grade class and sat in the only seat available. I had nothing to write with, so when the girl next to me looked away, I stole three of her pencils. That girl was Anne Moody. Her friend Brian Mulligan saw me clip the pencils and ratted me out. Anne got her pencils back — and that was the beginning of our 60 years together.

We had the same group of friends throughout school. It was after Anne and I went to the junior prom together that our relationship became a romance. We started dating, enjoying such things as going to Jones Beach and roller skating. We dated for two years before getting engaged. By then, I had enlisted in the Army and was attending helicopter school in Virginia. I came home on leave for the weekend of Oct. 17, 1970, so that we could marry at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Seaford; we had our reception at The Riviera in Massapequa. A month later I got my orders for Vietnam. Before I left, we honeymooned in Miami.

During a layover in Seattle on my flight to Vietnam, my orders were changed. I was told I would be serving in Anchorage, Alaska. Anne was shocked when I called from Alaska, not Vietnam. She jumped on a flight and joined me. During our two years there, our daughter Kelly was born. When she was 3 months old, we bundled ourselves up to watch an Iditarod dog sled race. A local man gave Anne a hand-carved soapstone figure of an Alaskan trapper that we still treasure today.

When my military service ended, we moved to a house in Farmingdale. Shortly afterward, I got my first publishing job at PTN Publishing in Hempstead. I made a lifelong career in the publishing industry, at one point owning my own company, which Anne helped me build.

Along the way, our second daughter, Mackenzie, was born. It was about then that Anne, the girls and I started sailing. For many years, we spent every spring, summer and fall sailing around Long Island together. I can’t think of a better way to get close to family and friends than being on a 34-foot Catalina sailboat with sometimes 15 or more people each looking for a place to lay their head for the night. We went aground periodically, but each time was another adventure. We got through it with good humor.

Back to the three pencils! For our 25th anniversary, I had a necklace made for Anne. It was three miniature gold pencils with three diamonds. How I will beat that when we celebrate our 50th, I don’t know — but I will try!

The world we live in today is very different from when we were growing up, but building a family was our goal from way back, and we nailed it!

Soul mate is a common term, but in our case, it’s true and appropriate. Anne and I wish our love and respect for each other could be experienced by everyone. She is a special woman, and I look forward to the excitement of the future with her. Anne, who loves ya?!

— With Ann Donahue-Smukler