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A lot has happened in the past 72 years — from the moon landing to the fall of the Berlin Wall — and one couple, John and Dorothy Sikma, have been together through it all.
The couple celebrated a vow renewal ceremony at the Bernhard Tuff Chapel at the Tuff Memorial Home Tuesday, Sept. 3, with residents, staff and family.
Pastor Maggie Berndt-Dreyer, chaplain of the nursing home, officiated at the ceremony, which featured music by Jeanne Prekker and Glenda McGaffee.
Bridesmaids were Jocelyn Jacoby and Joanna Stroeh, and administrator Eli Ripley escorted the bride down the aisle.
“Listen to your husband,” is the advice shared by Dorothy Sikma for a happy marriage.
Her husband, John, said, “You can’t give that advice. It just happens and it is amazing.”
The Sikmas met on Decoration Day, now called Memorial Day, at the roller rink in Lake Okoboji, Iowa.
John said, “She couldn’t roller skate and was hanging on the rail so I came along and helped her.”
Dorothy added, “He said, ‘I’ll come and visit you,’ but he never did.”
Later Dorothy and her folks were visiting friends on a Sunday afternoon and attended church services at the Christian Reformed Church in Ocheyedan, Iowa.
John was attending services there that day, and he said the rest is history.
The couple married Sept. 3, 1947, in the Reformed Church in Worthington.
After their marriage they farmed and lived with her parents near Bigelow.
Later they purchased their own farm and became the parents of three daughters, Janice and Norma who live in Michigan, and Bernice (deceased).
They have 10 grandchildren, all girls, and one great-grandchild.
A wedding reception followed the ceremony in the dining room of the nursing home. The cake was made and decorated by dietary employee Elvia Vink.