ST. LOUIS - When he first saw her, he immediately knew she was the girl he wanted to marry. More than eight decades later, George Limpert still thinks his wife, Amelia, is the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.
It's been 82 years since they were married, and they're still there for each other. They hold hands. Both use wheelchairs now, so he carries a mechanical grabber to pick up anything she drops.
They're still very much in love, but their relationship had a few false starts.
It took George a year to win Amelia's heart, and even then her family didn't approve. Three times their engagement was broken. She never understood why they didn't see what a good man he was, so finally the couple decided to elope.
They were married Sept. 9, 1921. A month later, the devout Catholics had a formal marriage ceremony. She was 18, he 20.
"She was everything I wanted, and that's all," George Limpert, now 102, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His wife is now 100.
The two met at the old Matthews factory in St. Louis, which made paint spray guns and lamp guards. She was a teenager from Pennsylvania working on the assembly line. He was a St. Louis native working as a machinist.
So he could watch her work, George drilled a hole in the wall that separated them.
Since then, they've had good times and bad. They've raised 10 children, seven still alive.
The Great Depression was particularly tough. George was out of work most of the time and had to take odd jobs making parts for old cars, painting houses and fixing faulty plumbing.
"It was rough sailing," he said.
At times, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a Catholic welfare group, brought groceries to the family. The children recall that their father would take only part what was offered so there would be more for others.
Years later, when the Limperts had a little money, they gave back to the charity.
During World War II, three of the Limperts' sons went into the armed services and one, Joseph, died as a Marine on Iwo Jima.
At 42, George tried to enlist in the Marines himself, but was turned down because he had flat feet. Amelia volunteered at the Veterans Hospital at Jefferson Barracks. She'd invite servicemen into the family home, feeding them Sunday dinner and rolling up the rug so they could dance in the dining room with her daughters.
Later that decade, George got a job as a machinist at the Chain of Rocks Water Works. He rose to foreman and retired in 1966 at age 65. In retirement, he spent a lot of time taking other retirees to the grocery and the doctor.
On milestone wedding anniversaries and birthdays, the Limperts' clan of descendants — which numbers more than 260 — gathers for parties at the St. Louis nursing home they now call home.
"I think we have the biggest family in the U.S.," George Limpert says. "They are all in good shape. They are middle-class people. They aren't poor like we were."
No one can say for sure what accounts for their longevity. The children say it's Amelia's good cooking. The couple credits apple cider vinegar, which they mix with honey and water to drink.
And they each have their own theories about what made the marriage a success.
"You have to cooperate with one another," said George. "Everybody has faults."
The children mention her patient and loving nature, his solid work ethic and the couple's faith in God.
"You have to stick together," Amelia said. "You can't disagree about everything. It would never work."
What a wonderful story!
It's been 82 years since they were married, and they're still there for each other. They hold hands. Both use wheelchairs now, so he carries a mechanical grabber to pick up anything she drops.
They're still very much in love, but their relationship had a few false starts.
It took George a year to win Amelia's heart, and even then her family didn't approve. Three times their engagement was broken. She never understood why they didn't see what a good man he was, so finally the couple decided to elope.
They were married Sept. 9, 1921. A month later, the devout Catholics had a formal marriage ceremony. She was 18, he 20.
"She was everything I wanted, and that's all," George Limpert, now 102, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His wife is now 100.
The two met at the old Matthews factory in St. Louis, which made paint spray guns and lamp guards. She was a teenager from Pennsylvania working on the assembly line. He was a St. Louis native working as a machinist.
So he could watch her work, George drilled a hole in the wall that separated them.
Since then, they've had good times and bad. They've raised 10 children, seven still alive.
The Great Depression was particularly tough. George was out of work most of the time and had to take odd jobs making parts for old cars, painting houses and fixing faulty plumbing.
"It was rough sailing," he said.
At times, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a Catholic welfare group, brought groceries to the family. The children recall that their father would take only part what was offered so there would be more for others.
Years later, when the Limperts had a little money, they gave back to the charity.
During World War II, three of the Limperts' sons went into the armed services and one, Joseph, died as a Marine on Iwo Jima.
At 42, George tried to enlist in the Marines himself, but was turned down because he had flat feet. Amelia volunteered at the Veterans Hospital at Jefferson Barracks. She'd invite servicemen into the family home, feeding them Sunday dinner and rolling up the rug so they could dance in the dining room with her daughters.
Later that decade, George got a job as a machinist at the Chain of Rocks Water Works. He rose to foreman and retired in 1966 at age 65. In retirement, he spent a lot of time taking other retirees to the grocery and the doctor.
On milestone wedding anniversaries and birthdays, the Limperts' clan of descendants — which numbers more than 260 — gathers for parties at the St. Louis nursing home they now call home.
"I think we have the biggest family in the U.S.," George Limpert says. "They are all in good shape. They are middle-class people. They aren't poor like we were."
No one can say for sure what accounts for their longevity. The children say it's Amelia's good cooking. The couple credits apple cider vinegar, which they mix with honey and water to drink.
And they each have their own theories about what made the marriage a success.
"You have to cooperate with one another," said George. "Everybody has faults."
The children mention her patient and loving nature, his solid work ethic and the couple's faith in God.
"You have to stick together," Amelia said. "You can't disagree about everything. It would never work."
What a wonderful story!
