By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
Six couples at Brandywine Senior Living at Princeton are marking Valentine’s Day with vow renewals representing more than 375 years of marriage combined.
One of the couples, the Zellers, have been married for 69 years.
”It doesn’t feel like it; we renew (our vows) every day,” Eleanor Zeller said. “Did you ever blink your eye and say ‘Where did time go?’”
David Zeller clearly remembers where he met his bride the lunchroom of the hospital where they worked.
”I worked in lower Manhattan, and the hospital had tables for four, and two of the interns and I sat at one of the tables, and there was room for a fourth, and she always got the fourth,” he said. “Eventually I said, ‘What the heck, let’s get married.’ So we did.”
Their first date to which Mr. Zeller was late was at the Horn & Hardart restaurant and cost a whopping total of 15 cents for the meal.
The best advice they have for sustaining a long marriage is cherishing each day, Mrs. Zeller said.
”Try not to get too old too fast; take your time, you’ll get there,” Mr. Zeller said. “And do what your wife tells you to do and do it fast.”
”A loyal, loving husband who has the ability to fix everything” is the secret to more than 60 years of wedded bliss for Lorraine Pivnick.
Holding hands with her husband of 63 years, she said they would be married 64 years Feb. 10, after being introduced by a mutual friend.
When Mr. Pivnick called to ask her out on their first date, Mrs. Pivnick was struck by his name.
”His last name is Pivnick, and I put my hand on the receiver and laughed; I never heard such a funny name,” she said. “Then Ben took me to the theater, and (we) saw ‘Anna Lucasta.’”
She also said compromise is key to a long marriage.
”Listening occasionally” to his wife is key for Julius Knapp, who married his wife, Irene, in 1948.
The secret to a good marriage is “so secret I don’t know it myself,” said Arthur Manuel, who has been married for 61 years.
He said he met his bride, Julia, while they were both working on a project at a pharmaceutical company.
After a first date of dinner at the Roger Smith Hotel in New Brunswick and a movie, Mr. and Mrs. Manuel have been together ever since.
Phoebe and Frank Shallcross have been married for 55 years after meeting during chemistry graduate studies at Brown University. Donald and Theta Duffy, married 63 years, also met in school.
For Mrs. Shallcross, getting along with her partner is the secret to her more than half century of marriage.
The couples planned to share a special dinner with a champagne toast as they exchanged their vows to celebrate their love on Valentine’s Day.

