Roger, Florence Roberts celebrate big occasion in Lake Oswego

Now that Florence and Roger Roberts have reached their 70th wedding anniversary, it is safe to assume that their marriage is in good shape.

In fact, it must be in remarkable shape to reach a seventh decade. Obviously, Flo and Rog are still happy after all of these years. They celebrated this incredible occasion on June 18 in Lake Oswego with family and friends at the Olive Garden Restaurant.

“It doesn’t seem that long to us,” Florence said.

Asked the secret of their marital success, she said, “We trusted each other. We both had the same aim in life — saving for the future. We’ve both had good health and we eat our vegetables.”

Another key has been golf. Florence was featured in an article in The Courier, a newspaper covering King City, after a reporter discovered she was still playing golf at age 90.

“Now I’m 92 and I’m still playing golf, although not as often,” Florence said. “It’s an addictive game.”

The couple spent many of their years in Lake Oswego, where they first became junior high sweethearts at age 13. The romance continued at West Linn High School (Lake Oswego had no high school in those days).Their budding romance was facilitated by riding the same school bus every day. Soon after their high school graduation, however, the world began coming apart as World War II broke out. By 1942 the United States was up to its neck in conflict, but it wasn’t enough to daunt a young couple who wanted to get married on June 18, 1942 at Mt. Scott Park Presbyterian Church in Portland.

The wedding ceremony was not fancy.

“I had no long white gown,” Florence said. “It was wartime.”

They then had a whirlwind honeymoon (one night) because Roger had to immediately report for his job on the railroad. What their honeymoon lacked in length was made up for by force. At midnight on June 21 the Japanese Navy used a submarine to launch a bombing attack on Fort Stevens.

“We felt we started our marriage with a bang,” Florence said.

She became a war bride when Roger joined the U.S. Navy and went to sea on the Quincy, a heavy cruiser — the ship famed for transporting President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Yalta.

Following the war, the Robertses settled down to a quiet, peaceful and very long life, reaching one big wedding anniversary after another. The only down side of being married for 70 years is that Florence has a hard time convincing people that she and Roger have been married for so long.

“They’re kind of surprised when I tell them that,” Florence said. “They say I don’t look like I’ve been married for 70 years.”

And what’s more, Roger and Florence aren’t done yet.

“We’re aiming to being married for some more years,” she said.