This story originally ran on the Los Angeles Daily News website.
After more than seven decades of marriage, Stephen and Rose Marchese of Burbank, Calif. have a pretty simple secret to staying in love.
"We still hold hands," said Rose, 93. "Holding hands and talking."
Added Stephen, 94: "You don't go to bed mad. You make up before you go to bed. We kiss every morning, ask each other how we are, how you feel and all that. We hold hands while watching television. That's the secret to the whole thing."
As the Marcheses prepared to celebrate their 73rd anniversary last month, they recalled a pretty simple love story.
Boy meets girl. Boy puts arms around girl. Girl swats boy's arms away.
Boy's father beats him to a pulp and threatens to kill him if he gets married.
They wed anyway, and now here they are all these years later still in love, with a handful of kids, grandkids and great-grandkids testifying to their bond.
The two grew up as neighbors in Batavia, N.Y., so they've actually known each other for about 80 years. They recall "running in and out of each other's houses" as children.
It wasn't until Stephen was 17 that he realized Rose was more than a neighborhood kid. After using Rose's sister Josephine as an intermediary, he got close enough to Rose to make his first move.
He wrapped his arms around her. The move wasn't appreciated.
"She swatted at me!" Stephen said with a smile. "She thought I had the wrong sister!"
He remembers correcting her right away. "No, I want you." He pointed his index finger at the right one.
Stephen's unexpected hug followed by his clarification convinced Rose to give him a chance. After going together for about three years, the next step was marriage.
Unfortunately, state law and Stephen's family forbade it.
In New York at that time, it was illegal for couples under age 21 to get hitched without parental consent, Stephen recalled. His father wanted him at home to help provide for their family so he refused to comply with the couple's request for his signature.
[quote]You don't go to bed mad. You make up before you go to bed. We hold hands while watching television. That's the secret to the whole thing. -- Stephen Marchese, 94[/quote]
"He couldn't get his family to sign the papers because he was the only bread bringer," Rose said.
When Stephen broke the news to his father that he was leaving home against the family's wishes, his father did not take it well.
"I was beat up when I left home," Stephen recalled.
"Excuse me please, honey," Rose interrupted his tale. "He was beat to a pulp."
His father even threatened to kill him, Stephen said, showing up at the couple's hideout one night and indicating he had a gun.
A friend called the police, who searched him and found no weapon.
"He was faking it," Stephen said with a laugh.
Stephen turned 21 on June 10, 1940. He and Rose were married that Saturday, June 15.
The little details of their wedding remain blurry in their memory. They were so worried Stephen's father would interrupt the ceremony that Rose didn't focus much on her dress or the location.
"It was just a house wedding," she said.
The moment after they were married, though, remains very clear to this day.
"We parked and both cried," Rose said. "We were so relieved we could finally be together."
Rose and Stephen have been happily married since that day. They moved from Batavia to Burbank in 1959. He worked for American Savings as a building engineer.
"He did everything from putting the Christmas tree atop the building to renovating. He always had his own business on the side where he did handyman stuff as well," said his daughter-in-law Joni.
They have four kids — Rosalie, Stephen, Carole and David — six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, with one more on the way.
Tom Miller, who has lived across the street from the Marcheses since 1985, talks of Stephen fondly.
"Steve is really a dad to me. He has a heart of gold," Miller said. Of the couple, he said, "They're just in love."
Dennis Platt and his wife, Vicky, longtime family friends of the Marcheses, confirmed the couple's lively dynamic. They've been on multiple cruises with Stephen and Rose.
"Steve will get to know everyone on the ship within a couple of days," Platt recalls with a laugh. "They win all the contests, too, because of how long they've been married. We've been everywhere together."
Stephen celebrated his 94th birthday in June and remains optimistic about the future.
"Maybe we get to 95 and we have another [anniversary] party," he said.
In the meantime, they just continue to enjoy each other's company.
"We don't have any other problems," Stephen said. "That's the truth. That's about it, I guess. We just love each other, that's all"