1948 - August 8 - 2018 70th Anniversary

My Parents'

70th Anniversary

Delbert Keith Brown 

27 July 1928 OH- 24 October 2000 NY

Son of Roy Jesse Brown & Ivy Regina Mark

&

Alberta Joy Gardner

26 March 1928 NY - 10 August 1992 NY

Daughter of Nathaniel Gardner & Helen F. Coyle

70 years ago today my parents, both 20 years old, were married. My mother said she wanted to get married in August because it was less rainy than July. She also liked the repetition of the "8s" in the date, 8/8/48.

They were married in the Rectory of the Church of the Resurrection in Germantown, NY. At that time Roman Catholics who married outside their faith were not allowed to be married in the church itself. My mother came from a long line of Irish Catholics but my father had no religious connection. My mother told me that this policy was changed soon after their wedding. Because she was married in the rectory, rather than the church, she decided to wear a hat rather than a veil.

30 years later my husband & I would be married in that little Catholic Church in Germantown.

My maternal grandfather, Nathaniel Gardner, had died in 1944. The invitation shows that my grandmother paid for the wedding & reception on her small income. My mother sewed her own wedding gown. The bill for the reception, held at the General Worth Hotel in Hudson, NY, shows that the meals were $1.75 for each guest and the cake was $14.00.

My parents took a honeymoon by driving to New York City & Washington, DC. I have letters written by my mother to her mother during the honeymoon trip. When my parents returned they lived with my grandmother until they saved up money for their own place. First they had a small apartment and later, c 1952 they bought a small house on Woods Road. The house is still in the family and my nephew & his small family live there today. It is a house full of happy memories.

1968

20th Anniversary

Del & Joy

1988

40th Wedding Anniversary,

My parents, their four children, two children in law & five grandchildren

If my parents were still with us today I could post a photograph of them with their four children, two children in law, eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren. I cannot do that but I can make sure all their grandchildren & great grandchildren know the stories about their lives. 

2018

The great grandchildren of Delbert K. & Alberta Joy (Gardner) Brown. 

Congratulations, Mom & Dad.

You created a wonderful living legacy that continues today & tomorrow.

Related Posts:

• Joy's Valentine
• Alberta Joy Gardner Brown