MD Couples Renew Vows In Senior Living After 6 Decades Of Marriage

OWINGS MILLS, MD — Believe it or not, relationships haven't always started on dating apps. Couples used to meet in church or school. Times seemed simpler back when dinner and a movie was an impressive date.

Sock hops may have given way to swiping right, but some honeymooners kept their fire burning through the years.

Three Maryland couples in senior living renewed their wedding vows on Thursday after roughly six decades of marriage each. The ceremony held the day before Valentine's Day reaffirmed their devotion through the aches and heartbreaks of aging.

Atrium Village senior living in Owings Mills hosted the vow renewal ceremony for couples Henry and Odessa Goodman, James and Katie Grove and Lewis and Carole Gross. All the honorees are in their mid-80s to early-90s.

"As you age, you become more compassionate. Because you've been through a lot together, you recognize things that you probably shouldn't do and you try to stay away from those," Henry Goodman said.

Following a photo shoot for the couples, some of whom never had engagement pictures, they headed to the lobby-turned-chapel. Dozens of residents attended. Some arrived 2.5 hours early to snag a "first-class seat."

An Atrium Village resident officiated the ceremony in front of the flower-decorated altar completed with streamers and balloons. Afterward, a DJ spun throwbacks like "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green, and there was even a three-tier wedding cake.

Romance In Simpler Times

Katie Grove met her future husband when she was 5 years old. She had just moved from South Carolina to Maryland and started attending Grace Memorial Baptist Church in Baltimore, where James Grove's father was the pastor.

Katie Grove remembers telling the preacher, "Your son is handsome, like you are. I'm going to marry him when I'm 20 years old."

"And I did marry him when I was 20," she said.

Though the spark was instant, the couple opted to save the fireworks until their wedding.

"Our first kiss was when we got married after I said, 'I do.' My mother had told me never to kiss a man until I was married," Katie Grove said.

That kiss must have been magical because the Groves will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on Feb. 20.

The soon-to-be Goodmans met in the cafeteria of Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore.

"When I saw her, she was beautiful," Henry Goodman told Patch. "I said to myself, 'She would be nice to date.'"

Both originally from North Carolina, the two said "I do" in the living room of the bride's parents in Baltimore in 1958. After serving in the Marines, he became a claims adjuster for Baltimore City, and she worked in personnel for Social Security.

Odessa Goodman also spent time as a travel agent, sending them to Europe on three occasions. England was her favorite destination, and a voyage to South America landed Brazil on their list of memorable trips.

Even with the globetrotting, the Goodmans' early dates are still some of their fondest memories.

"During those days, you didn't have much money, so we'd go to movies," Henry Goodman said. "During that time, you probably spent 10, 15 bucks, and you thought you had really done something."

Lewis and Carole Gross met at a young adults club for three Towson-area churches.

"He was in church, but I grabbed him. He didn't get away. I trapped him," Carole Gross said with a chuckle.

A week later, Lewis Gross visited his eventual wife at her job at the Roland Park Library. He joked that instead of checking out books, he took out a librarian.

"It was probably love at first sight," he said.

Lewis Gross was drafted to serve in the Army between the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was stationed in Germany, where he worked as a hand radio operator under strict orders to never visit Berlin for fear of encountering Soviet soldiers. After his two-year stint in the service, Lewis Gross married his love and started his 25-year career at Black+Decker assembling drill motors.

The Grosses spent their summers at a shore house in Bowleys Quarters on Galloway Creek.

Married in 1966, the newlyweds honeymooned at Niagra Falls. They have held true to their vows for 58 years.

"I am surprised that he was as good as I thought he was. I thought once we got married, he might change, but he was always nice. And you oughtta keep that in mind if you get married," Carole Gross said.

Love Lessons Learned

With 190 combined years of marriage, the lovebirds have learned some lessons along the way.

"If it's not going to cost too much, and nobody gets hurt, just do it her way," Lewis Gross joked.

For the Goodmans, it's about balance and teamwork.

"It takes a lot of patience, give and take," Henry Goodman said.

The couples also faced hardships that tested their life outlooks.

The Goodmans lost their oldest of two daughters in September 2023. The Groves' only son passed in January 2016 on the anniversary of their pastor's death.

"It was comforting to me," Katie Grove said. "He was letting me know my son was up there with him in heaven."

Aging has brought another set of challenges.

The Grosses live separately in Atrium Village based on their individual needs, but they still visit each other weekly.

Lewis Gross said aging "ain't fun."

"You get up in the morning, and you wonder, 'Now, what's broken? What doesn't work any more?'" he said. "It's difficult arranging our social engagements around our doctors' appointments."

Katie Grove has suffered two heart attacks, and her husband has survived one since their son died.

"I just hated to let my son go, but we're coming through it," she said.

The two recovered, and they keep moving to stay in shape.

James Grove has been a carrier for the Johns Hopkins Green Spring Station pharmacy for 10 years, while Katie Grove still works in real estate. She also remains active in the Coast Guard Auxiliary and sings in two choirs, including one at Atrium Village.

"I'm not going to stop working until God calls me," Katie Grove said. "I want to keep busy because I believe I didn't come to Atrium to die. I came to live."

Outings to museums and plays engage Atrium Village residents, while an in-house farmers market welcomes vendors and artisans. Other planned trips include a tour of the Maryland State House and a veterans' visit to Washington, D.C. The annual senior prom is another hit, and the summer solstice party grooves outside with live music.

These activities create essential social interactions for the community, Atrium Village Executive Director Patty Potts said.

"At the age that they are, they have a tendency to become more depressed and isolated, so we try to get them out of their apartments so that way we can all celebrate together," Potts said, calling Atrium Village a "cruise ship on land." " You always hear growing up, 'I'm never going to put my mom in a home.' ... This isn't just a home. This is an experience, and it's an adventure."

Potts inadvertently inspired the vow renewal ceremony when she got married at Atrium Village last Valentine's Day. Her wedding was such a smash that she continued the tradition with the vow renewals this year.

"You would've thought they were all my parents the way they were crying," Potts said of her wedding.

Mary O'Connell, the only child of Lewis and Carole Gross, cherished watching her parents renew their vows.

"Of course, I wasn't present the first time, so it's really nice to see," O'Connell said. "I'm blessed because many people in my age group don't have both parents or have any parents, so it's really nice to be that close."