LOVE IS not guaranteed to last a lifetime. However, such wonder is seen in the lives of a Bedford County couple celebrating 60 years together.
Bruce and Linda Gordon met at the age of 21 in July 1961 at Bruce’s home in Quincy, Massachusetts. He was in the Marine Corps at the time, on leave. Linda was visiting his sister. She was chased off by their dog upon arrival. She intended to leave, but Bruce convinced her to stay. Little did Linda know, she would never leave him again.
“When I got back to the house, he had put the dog away and came out the door,” Linda says. “And when I walked up the stairs, he said, ‘I’m gonna marry you,’ and I said, ‘Sneak off, creep.’”
Despite her initial rejection, she agreed to marry Bruce a week later, who left his girlfriend the day he met Linda. Bruce, who was Baptist, says his parents thought the marriage would not work since Linda was Catholic. The two married the next month anyway on Aug. 27. Linda became a Baptist in 1980.
After their wedding, Bruce and Linda did not simply live happily ever after. Hardships spotted their lives even before their first encounter. Linda experienced perilous fevers during her childhood beginning in the seventh grade with scarlet fever. She later contracted polio in 1955, which led to her becoming mostly paralyzed and doctors prognosing she would never walk again. During both events, doctors said she could possibly die. Nevertheless, Linda was walking two and a half years later, still living. Additionally, she graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA.
Challenges continued when Bruce and Linda first married. They lost their first baby and were told by her doctor that Linda would probably never carry another child. She later became pregnant with a baby boy and was hospitalized for three months, where she was again told she may not survive, but Linda overcame all the odds.
“I told them that if I had one chance at having a baby, I’m gonna have it,” Linda says. “He turned out perfect, and I’d end up having three more, and I’m a walking miracle.”
Their children were Bruce Jr, Brian, Traci, and Bret. Sadly, Brian died about 11 years ago. Bruce and Linda say they had little money while raising their four kids. At one point, they collected trash to sell as a means to feed their children. They say the past financial hardships taught them to only rely on God.
Bruce and Linda now live in Shelbyville where Bruce is retired and paints in his free time. Linda spends time crafting. They celebrated their 60th anniversary last August with a vow renewal since she was not a Protestant when they first married.
“Our marriage has not been all peaches and cream,” Bruce says. “We have been through difficult times, but when troubles come upon us, we leave it to God.”
Linda loves that Bruce does not dwell on problems and attempts to find humor in tough situations. Bruce says Linda takes great care of him. Both made a commitment to always work for their children and God.
“The only thing that is going to end our marriage is that one of us dies,” Bruce says. -GN
