As Valentine’s Day approaches, there is no shortage of advice available to anyone looking to discover the secret to a successful relationship. Whether just beginning the journey of a lifetime or successfully navigating more than half a century together, some Alexandria couples share the stories behind their lasting and very special love affairs.

Rosa and Jack Byrd – married 58 years

“We got married so young we really grew up together. We give each other unconditional love and laugh together. We accept each other’s differences and we have shared hobbies. The main thing is to keep doing new things. We stay active, which I believe is the key to successful aging and a successful marriage.” – Rosa

“We love to travel and have been to all 50 states but three – Nebraska, North Dakota and Oregon. We have been to South Africa and Alaska and take water aerobics together. We enjoy experiencing new things together.” – Jack

Chet and Sabra Avery – married 59 years

“Sabra made the error of sitting down next to me in a graduate class at Harvard. We went out together a couple of times. My friends were concerned about me because I was always going out with different girls and wasting my time. But when they met Sabra, they all said ‘This is the one.’ The moment I knew she was the girl above all girls of interest to me was when we were reading a book by Henry James and she said to me ‘Henry James is the man you’d like to have as your uncle.’ That’s when I knew she was special.” – Chet

“I knew when he was in that classroom with me that he was a special man. I volunteered to read for him because I wanted to be with him. We were with each other and stayed with each other ever since. We were married in 1961 and have one son and two grandchildren.” – Avery

Patrick and Danielle Moran – married two years

“The fabulous thing about our marriage and what makes for a successful marriage and partnership is a commitment to growing with one another. We’ve changed. Our interests have changed and things constantly evolve on a daily basis. But what’s important is to have a commitment to growing with your partner, appreciating how that person is changing and growing as a unit.” – Patrick

“We are expecting our first child, a daughter, in April. That will be a huge change for us but we will support each other through those changes. I am looking forward to the future of our family.” – Danielle

Sandy Modell and Cathy Clement

“What makes our life together happy and hopefully long-lasting is that we have patience, we have optimism, we have empathy, and we have a dog. We’ll have a quiet evening together for Valentine’s Day – make dinner and maybe spend the evening by a fire.” – Sandy

“What I think is important is that we give each other mutual support – we have each other’s back.” – Cathy

Elsie and Jim Henson – married 43 years

“What has made our marriage successful is patience, communication and a strong relationship with the Lord. We turned everything over to the Lord.” – Elsie

“We both have our individual faults and individual strengths but the Lord is the equalizer. My favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5-6: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.’ This feeling of teamwork brings us through – it gives us a common purpose. We work together and while we might be doing different things, we are still together and still part of the team and that’s a good feeling.” – Jim

Shelley and Dick Schwab – married 58 years

“What has been successful in our marriage is that we only argue over unimportant things, like how long to cook the vegetables. We met at Antioch College in Ohio – I was still in college when we got married in 1961. When we moved to the Washington area I became a writer and we started a family.” – Shelley

“We agree on most things. Most of the things we argued about were very minor. I think most importantly, we also never went to bed mad at each other. That would be my best advice to other couples.” – Dick