Marriage is not child’s play. There are many ways to make a marriage work, and commitment is one of them. Oftentimes, young couples look up to their parents or older couples for relationship advice on lasting marriages, like John George Betar Sr. and Ann Shawah Betar from Fairfield, Connecticut, who were considered one of the “longest-married” couples in the United States—and possibly, the world.
Originally from Syria, John was a 21-year-old fruit peddler when he met 17-year-old high-schooler Ann in 1932. They were neighbors who lived across the street from each other in Bridgeport, Connecticut’s historic seaport city. Ann used to walk with her friends to Bassick High School in the morning at the time, and John would drive by in his Ford Roadster to give them a lift. And from then on, their love blossomed.
