Love Notes: Former Clayton Attorney and Spouse Share Relationship Keys

In honor of Valentine's Day, Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch teamed up with Maplewood-Brentwood Patch to ask several committed couples about their lives together and what it takes to maintain a relationship.

We visited -based , home to approximately 80 senior residents.

Here is what one of the couples told us.

Marvin and Sue Young
Age: Marvin is 82 and Sue is 80
Years married: 59
Anniversary: Aug. 23, 1952
Formerly of: Warson Woods (Sue still lives there; Marvin lives at Sunrise)

Marvin and Sue Young of Warson Woods met on a blind date arranged by her suitemate. He was a student at Westminster College, she a student at William Woods College. Both are located in Fulton, MO.

Sue wasn't thrilled.

"'I don't want to be one of his one-night stands,'" she recalls saying.

They went to the movies, where they saw a sad film. At one point, Sue looked over at her date and saw great big tears coming down his cheeks.

From that point on, she wanted to get to know Marvin better.

"Boys do cry," Sue said.

(Also on Patch: Love Notes: Paul and Betty Hayes Stayed Together with Work, Vacations)

They began dating. Later, Marvin gave her his beta pin, a sign that they were going steady. He was a senior, and she was in her second year.

Marvin ended up getting a full-ride scholarship to attend the University of Michigan Law School.  He was an accomplished student.

The day after graduation from college he received a notice saying he was 1-A for the draft.  Marvin wanted to finish his education before serving.  He got a deferment for one semester from the draft board.  He could talk the birds off the trees. He then joined the ROTC at the University of Michigan.  He said it was the best leadership training he ever received.

The two had to be parted during his first year at Michigan. He called Sue and asked her to marry him. They were married that summer. He graduated in June 1954, and they moved to St. Louis, where he had a job at Thompson & Mitchell law firm, now known as Thompson Coburn.  They lived in an efficiency apartment with no air-conditioning. Sue remembers people frying eggs on the payment when one day it reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit.

They then left for Columbia, MO, where they built a house on Longfellow Lane. They lived there for nine years. He worked in a law department.

One day, Marvin got a call from a friend he had known at Thompson & Mitchell. The acquaintance planned to leave his position as general counsel at Peabody Coal and asked Marvin if he wanted the position.

They returned to St. Louis, and Marvin worked as vice president, general counsel and secretary for 17 years at Peabody. He served under four chief executives during his time there.

Afterward, he went into private practice at Clayton's . He retired from law when he fell and broke his hip in January 2009.

The couple have two children, a daughter named Victoria and a son named Kendall. Their grandchildren are Marissa, Ellery, Griffin, Kayla and Kory.

Sue said she and her husband have a good relationship highlighted by visiting many countries and going on lots of cruises. Marvin enjoys playing jazz piano. A keyboard stands under sheets of music in his room at Sunrise.