A Love Story: Michiana couple celebrates 76 years of marriage

BREMEN, Ind. (WNDU) - It’s important to remember there’s still a lot of love in this world!

That’s why this Valentine’s Day, we’re shining a light on a local couple who’ve been married for 76 years.

For Margaret and Max Weakly, eight decades of love is all about selfless giving and a deep respect for one another. Our own Lauren Moss met up with them as they recalled their love story after all these years.

“Well, I just like chocolate to keep my health up,” Max said. Chocolate isn’t just for Valentine’s Day for Max and Margaret.

“She plays bingo and wins chocolate,” Max continued.

As their daughter Lee Ann says, it’s an act of love for these two.

“She saves her chocolate because she knows he loves chocolate,” Lee Ann explained. “I realized it’s a very deep love that I didn’t appreciate maybe until they were parted.”

Margaret is currently living at Signature Health Care in Bremen.

“I miss her terribly,” Max told us. “I’ll be sitting there watching a ball game or something, and I look over at her chair... not there.”

It’s the longest these two have been apart in quite some time.

“How many years? 76 years? Yeah,” Margaret said.

You read that right, Margaret and Max got married in October 1946.

“Sunny and warm, I had a wool suit. It was hot!” Margaret recalled.

96-year-old Max first saw 94-year-old Margaret in school. They began dating before Max entered the Army in the 40s towards the end of World War II.

“I took training here in the U.S. driving a tank, and they put me overseas in Hawaii in a replacement center, and I wasn’t there too long,” Max said.

When Max got home, the two got married and started their family, having three girls together.

“There were hard times because neither came from money, and I know that as young married people, they didn’t have a lot,” Lee Ann told us. “It wasn’t about how big of a house we lived in; it was about our family. Family was always first.”

It’s one of the good things Margaret loves the most about Max.

“He was good with the girls; they loved him,” Margaret said.

And Margaret as a mother?

“Good, wonderful,” Max chimed in. “She treated with royalty and catered to them.”

“Thank you,” Margaret replied.

The two have been through a lot in their decades together, including losing one of their daughters a few years ago in a car accident.

How did they get through?

“Pretty hard, you never do,” Margaret spoke.

But they’ve always had each other, and they’ve relied on one another to push through.

“That really has exemplified itself in the last couple of years,” Lee Ann said. “I never really thought about it. My parents were just my parents. I see how much my dad misses my mom, and I see the little things, like when my dad and I get ready to leave, she wants to make sure he’s being taken care of because she’s not there to take care of him.”

When asked about their secret to a 76-year marriage, Margaret says it’s simple.

“You gotta give a little and take a lot,” Margaret said. “A lot of people don’t do that. They get into disputes and then forget it, dump it, and get a different one. That isn’t love. Love is you love them good and bad.”

As for Max...

“I would tell you more, but I am just a man of few words, and I don’t talk much,” Max said.

“You’re a good guy,” Margaret said.

He lets his actions speak for himself.

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