Des Plaines couple celebrates 75 years of marriage
Frank and Mary Andrews tied the knot on June 7, 1941 in Chicago, not long before Frank went off to fight in World War II.
While he was taking part in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, Mary was back home caring for their young son. She received letters from nuns in Belgium, written mostly in Dutch and broken English, telling her Frank had to hide from the enemy in the basement of their convent, but that he was doing OK.
The two members of what journalist Tom Brokaw called "the Greatest Generation" celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary this month. Mary, 98, and Frank, 96, reside at the Brookdale senior retirement home in Des Plaines, where they still live independently and maintain an active social calendar, according to one of their sons, Larry.
In fact, they're so popular among the other residents that they were named queen and king of a senior prom the retirement center hosted a few years ago.
So what's the secret to a long, happy marriage?
"I do what I'm told," Frank said at the couple's recent anniversary party.
After the war, Frank went on to a career with the U.S. Postal Service, while Mary was predominantly a homemaker, raising four children. The Andrews also have 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.