Women Marry After 72 Years Together, Celebrate New Chapter

Two Iowa woman got married after 72 years together, proving love really can conquer all. The women, Vivian Boyack and Alice “Nonie” Dubes, say it’s never too late to write a new chapter in their lives.

Boyack, 91, and Dubes, 90, exchanged wedding vows at First Christian Church in Davenport, Iowa over the weekend. The Quad-City Times reports that the couple met in Yale, Iowa, where they grew up. They moved to Davenport in 1947.

Boyack spent time as a teacher in Davenport, serving to better education for children at Lincoln and Grant elementary schools.

After Saturday’s ceremony, she explained:

“I always wanted to be a teacher. My plan at an early age was to teach in the school where I was then going, and my teacher would move on to another school.”

Dubes worked for the Times and Democrat doing payroll for 13 years. She told the QC Times, “I signed the paychecks for everybody, including Bill Wundram.” After leaving the newspaper, she worked for Alter Corp. for 25 years.

When they weren’t working, the two women traveled to all 50 states, all the provinces of Canada, and to England twice. Now confined to wheelchairs, Dubes commented of their time together, “We’ve had a good time.” They added that it took a lot of love and work to keep their relationship going for 72 years.

The Washington Post notes that Rev. Linda Hunsaker, who presided over the couple’s marriage, told them, “This is a celebration of something that should have happened a very long time ago.”

Jerry Yeast, one of the couple’s long-time friends, told the paper he has known Boyack and Dubes since he was an 18-year-old landscaper working in their yard. Yeast, now 73, stated, “I’ve known these two women all my life, and I can tell you, they are special. This is a very special day for all of us.”

It took a long time for the two women to marry, largely because Iowa banned gay marriage until 2009. So, most of their 72-year relationship was spent without the ability to say their own vows and legally bind themselves together.

However, Iowa is now one of 19 states, plus the District of Columbia and 10 tribal reservations, which allow gay marriage. It isn’t clear why the women waited until 2014 to say their vows.

The women were surrounded by close friends and family as they held hands and sat side-by-side in wheelchairs.

[Image: ABC News]