Married March 8, 1930
Read more: Local, 80Th Anniversary, Russell Itschner, Leona Itschner, Perry Missouri, Couple, Wedding, Community
PERRY, MO. -- Spring is in the air, and a good sign of spring is true love.
And love doesn't get much truer for Russell and Leona Itschner of Perry, Missouri.
On March 8th, they celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary.
Sunday, their family hosted a party to commemorate the big day.
Most of the people at the party weren't at the Itschner's wedding back in 1930. But all the same, Russell and Leona had a good time seeing familiar faces.
"It's good to see all these people because we don't see many anymore. The people we used to know are all gone," says Russell Itschner.
That's what happens when you live to be 101...his lovely bride is 99. The Itschners are still pretty active. Leona says she still cleans her house, and when the weather gets nice, Russell takes his electric wheelchair to his daughter's antique shop. In fact getting around might be what's kept the Itschner's going.
"I walked a lot. I really think that's why I'm healthy. We've always worked and did our thing," says Leona Itschner.
The couple has three daughters, three grandkids, and two great grandkids. Leona says the kids and grandkids have all turned out great, and that's helped keep the Itschner's young at heart.
"We don't have a secret. We just live right along," says Leona.
"We never had bad problems. We argued some, but that always ended up good," says Russell.
Leona says laughing together has also been a big help. Russell says most of the arguements came over doing something with the house like remodeling projects.
"I know I did a lot of things she didn't like. But she did one or two that I didn't like," says Russell.
It's clear what both Russell and Leona like, er love, and that's each other. Happy Anniversary!
By the way, the oldest living married couple is Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher.
They got married in 1924.
Today, they are 104 and 102 respectively.
