BY HEIDI
ULRICHSEN
In an era where 38 percent of Canadian marriages end in
divorce, 91-year-old Matthew John (known as M.J.) Frawley and
90-year-old Jeannette Frawley are something of a rarity.
The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary Dec. 26.
Their family and friends threw them an anniversary bash a day
later, Dec. 27, at Spencer's Bistro on Elm St.
M.J. met Jeannette in 1931 when he was attending an
English-language high school in Sudbury and she was attending a
French-language high school.
"We used to have a bunch of gangs that hung out on Cedar St.,
and she used to come by with her girlfriends at night for a
walk. We got to know each other," says M.J. "From there we took
off."
They got married in 1936 in the midst of the depression.
"It was pouring rain that day," says Jeannette. "Even in the
church, water was pouring down from the ceiling," adds M.J.
The young couple moved to Toronto for a year after they got
married, returning to Sudbury in 1937.
M.J. worked at the United Cigar Store on the corner of Elm and
Durham St., and then served in the air force during the Second
World War (he was stationed in Brandon, Man., and did not go
overseas).
When he returned to Sudbury, he became the manager of
Muirheads, a local stationery store, retiring in 1980.
Jeannette worked at a grocery store before they were married but quit her job to take care of their family.
The couple still lives in their own home and are in relatively
good health.
They have five children - Mary Jo, Michael, Phelan, Douglas and
Patricia - born between the late 1930s and the early 1950s, as
well as 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
"Raising kids certainly wasn't like it is now," Jeannette says.
"It's much harder to raise a family now, I find."
M.J. says their marriage has lasted so long because they
"didn't expect too much" of each other and "took things as they
came."
"We always did everything together," says Jeannette.
"Certainly, we did argue though. I always won, didn't I,
chum?"
The woman says she and her husband "are very fortunate" to be
celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary because it's a
milestone very few couples reach.
Their youngest child, Patricia Nurmi, agrees.
"This is an absolutely tremendous milestone in my mind," she
says. "In this day and age, not too many marriages last very
long, let alone 70 years."
Nurmi thinks her parents' marriage withstood the test of time
because they spent a lot of time together. "They didn't have a
large circle of friends. They were very much best friends, not
just man and wife. I think that's the key."
She thinks fondly of her childhood, growing up in a small house
packed with seven people.
"We had a postage-stamp kitchen, so my mom had to figure out a
way to feed everybody in that little kitchen. They got a door
and had it covered with arborite, and had it put on hinges on
the wall. That was folded up all the time until dinnertime,
when it would come down," she says.
"Everybody had to sit down, and my mom would serve the plates
from the stove. When everybody was served, she would sit
down."
Nurmi says she wants to thank her parents for being "so
steadfast, loving and supportive. I think we're a very
fortunate family. We're all very close. I think we all have
really strong values as the result of their upbringing."
Eight-year-old Isabelle Barbeau, who lives in Val Caron, is one
of the couple's great-grandchildren.
When asked if she could imagine being married to someone for 70
years, or if she still thinks boys are "yucky," she shared her
tale of elementary-school heartbreak.
"I used to have a boyfriend, but he moved away to Sudbury, and
now I can't talk to him anymore. I don't even know his phone
number anymore so I can't call him," she complains.
"My Nana and Papa are really nice to me. My Nana makes
cakes and puts them on the table in special casings and stuff.
They're very special to me."
