US couple 'unlawfully' wedded for 48 years
2012-12-24 16:05
-
Us
An old fashioned story by Mary Louisa Molesworth (1836-1921). The author of beloved children's...
Now R150.00
buy now
Redlands - After spending nearly a half-century as husband
and wife, Bob and Norma Clark are finally married.
The couple from Redlands, an inland California city halfway
between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, celebrated their 48th anniversary in
August, and in November they were getting their end-of-life documents in order
and sought a copy of their marriage license for Social Security purposes.
The Clarks, who met in college, took their vows at a church
south of San Francisco in August 1964, shortly after Bob had served in the Army
during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
But when clerks at the Hall of Records in San Mateo County
tried to pull the license last month, they came up empty.
"They went back to the year 1956, but no record of our
marriage could be found," Bob Clark told the Redlands Daily Facts.
The church where they had married still had a record of the
ceremony so they knew they hadn't imagined it, and several of the couple's
family members and friends who had been wedding guests were about to come to
town for the Thanksgiving holiday.
On 21 November they made their marriage legitimate, filing
their paperwork and obtaining their license at the San Bernardino County Hall
of Records, with the maid of honour and a junior usher from the original
wedding serving as witnesses.
Bob Clark brought flowers for Norma, and at the urging of
family and friends kissed the bride to seal the deal.
"I got her a nice bouquet, and it was just a
hoot," he said.
- AP
