State Winners for 2023 Longest Married Couple Project Announced by Worldwide Marriage Encounter

The 2023 state winners of the 13th annual Longest Married Couple Project, sponsored by WWME, the original marriage enrichment program, were announced today.

SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, November 30, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The 2023 state winners of the 13th annual Longest Married Couple Project, sponsored by Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME), the original faith-based marriage enrichment program in this country, were announced today.

“We are very pleased that over 100 nominations were received and that we have 38 state winners and 1 national winner,” said Peter and Sheila Oprysko and Fr. Dennis O’Brien, the United States Leadership Team for WWME.

“As we did with the national winners, Charles and Goldia Sasse of Fairbury, Illinois, who are married 79 years, the state winners will be honored personally by other Worldwide Marriage Encounter couples,” they explained. The state winners will be recognized during December or at a time convenient for the winning state couple and their families.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter created the project to highlight marriage in America and to show young couples that marriage really can go the distance. Winners of the project are automatically made members of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter Longest Married Couple Project Alumni group.

The leadership team also pointed out that the project is based on nominations received from June to September of the current year. They also said there were no nominations this year from several states.

The list of the 2023 state winners and their hometowns and wedding dates are as follows:

Alaska
Larry & Cathy Ward, Anchorage, AK 4/7/1969 54 years

Arkansas
David & Julia Rogers, Prairie View, AR 2/5/1948 75 years

California
Antonio L. Rocha & Pauline Rocha, Norwalk, CA 5/15/1948 75 years
Colorado
Louis & Martha Gagliano, Arvada, CO 12/1/1956 65 years

Connecticut
Russell & Pauline DeMarco, New London, CT 1/17/1953 70 years

Florida
George & Maurine Schaffer, Tallahassee, FL 9/25/1951 71 years

Georgia
Jack & Angel Labate, Cumming, GA 8/6/1961 62 years

Hawaii
Arthur & Betty Ventura, Kula, HI 5/10/1952 71 years

Iowa
Archie & Betty Hindal, Des Moines, IA 9/6/1947 76 years

Illinois
George & Jeannette Westendorf, Teutopolis, IL 6/25/1955 68 years

Indiana
David & Dorothy Sewnig, Dyer, IN 6/30/1951 72 years

Kentucky
John & Mary Ann Vanderveer, Springfield, KY 6/24/1967 56 years

Louisiana
George & Dolly Huhner, Jefferson, LA 8/12/1950 73 years

Massachusetts
Aires & Maria Cabral, Fall River, MA 7/26/1959 64 years

Maryland
Mel & Jean Marshalek, Parkville, MD 9/1/1951 72 years

Maine
Ronald & Sheila Moody. Troy, ME 9/11/1965 58 years

Michigan
Robert (Bob) & Verda Foy, Goodrich, MI 6/6/1953 70 years

Minnesota
John & Lillian Larson, St. Paul, MN 5/30/1948 75 years
Missouri
Rene & JoAnn Lusser, Saint Louis, MO 12/2//1963 59 yrs

Montana
Fred & Lorraine Schell, Lewistown, MT 6/18/1949 74 years

North Carolina
George & Marie Scalco, Cary, NC 4/25/1954 69 years

North Dakota
Vince & Georgiana Hibl, Dickinson, ND 6/4/1954 69 years

Nebraska
Robert & Bernadine Buresh, Fremont, NE 6/27/1953 70 years

New Jersey
Justo & Josefa Figueroa, Ewing, NJ 1/01/1966 57 years

Nevada
Felix & Linda Rivera, Henderson, NV 7/9/1971 52 years

New York
Mr. Hwang, Ik Soo & Mrs. Hwang,
Bok Soo, New York, NY 5/18/1955 68 years

Ohio
Ramon & Ana Luisa Rodriguez, Cincinnati, OH 9/26/1976 48 years

Oklahoma
John & Tena Franklin, Edmond, OK 6/26/1965 58 years

Oregon
Ted & Arlyn Brandt, Eugene, OR 9/2/1952 71 years

Pennsylvania
John & Rosemary Kleinfelder, Philadelphia, PA 6/1/1962 62 years

South Carolina
Mary Joe & Robert Hatala, Mt Pleasant, SC 7/15/1958 65 years

South Dakota
Roger & Sharon McCollar, Sioux Falls, SD 9/1/1962 61 years


Texas
Dick & Ruby Maxwell, Sinton, TX 11/1/1950 72 years

Virginia
Roy & Valerie Naquin, South Riding, VA 6/13/1953 70 years

Vermont
Daniel & Joyce Menard, Burlington, VT 9/27/1951 71 years

Washington
Joe & Helen Hasketh, Bellevue, WA 6/5/1954 69 years

Wisconsin
Charles & Rosemary Ovans, Milton, WI 6/8/1946 76 years

Wyoming
Tony & Frances Ortega, Cheyenne, WY 4/21/1951 72 years

Dick & Diane Baumbach
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