Happy 45th!!! (+ a week.)

NOW...

Last Saturday, December 6th my parents celebrated their 45th Wedding Anniversary. These days 45 years is quite an accomplishment. Though my siblings and I may laugh at some of my parents quirks, obviously they are doing something right. So in honor of their accomplishment, I wanted to go back to the beginning.

My mother, Jeanne Baum caught her first glimpse of her future husband, standing in her landlords living room, as he streaked through in a towel and swim shorts. Her landlady (future mother-in-law) told her & her roommate, Glenda, that her son, Marlin had just graduated. From my father's always youthful appearance, they thought she meant highschool, not college!

She soon realized her mistake and he became her obsession! She even went as far as stealing a missionary headshot picture of him from the little storage room where they were allowed to keep some of their belongings. She sent it home to her mom and dad to show them the guy she had her eye on, but missed it so much she went back and stole another!

My Father, Marlin at the time was dating another girl by the name of Gloria, which caused my mother great distress! Whenever he went out with Gloria, she would pace the floor in their basement apartment in Provo, waiting to hear his footsteps that signalled that he was home and she could relax and quit watching the clock. Jeanne thought she was finally going to get her chance with him when he asked her to go to a fireside with him. She asked him what happened to Gloria, and sadly found out that she just had to work. Still there was the chance to win him over, until a few hours before the fireside she got the call from him telling her "some others" would be joining them. Then she found out that Gloria was able to get off work and was one of the "others" that would be coming with them. She promptly told him "NO THANKS", and stayed home.

Marlin soon saw that Gloria wasn't so "glorious" and Marlin & Jeanne had their 1st date in July 1962, when they went to see a "Jack the Ripper Friday the 13th" flick. They enjoyed dating and didn't rush into anything. Jeanne says that Marlin was just a slow mover. Marlin says that Jeanne huggged the other side of the car instead of sitting next to him on the bench seat. Marlin went to work at HAFB, so their dates were limited to the weekends. One of Jeanne's most memorable dates was when they went iceskating on Utah Lake. She says that he swept her off her feet.

Time went on, and Jeanne got a cellulitis on her leg and since she worked in the nursery at Utah Valley Hospital, a Dr. told her she was not able to work until it was cleared up. So she went home to Burney, CA during her time off. When she returned back to Provo, she said she felt like she needed to go back home to CA, so back to CA she went, but not before Marlin's mother (my grandma Eva) told her that Marlin was sick that she was leaving and she wished that she would stay.

Jeanne got a job at the Fall River hospital after sorting out her credits to be licensed as a RN to work in California. She lived with her mom and dad, worked alot night shifts, wrote back and forth with Marlin a little and dated a few other guys.

After getting one particular boyfriend babtized, she realized she was missing something. So she scrounged up all the spare change she could find and placed the call to Marlin back in Provo. She says that she caught him at the right time since he had just gotten back from hiking Timpanogous and was vulnerable.

Marlin drove to California in his VW Karmenghia and met her parents, had some fun being together again, and he and Jeanne decided to get married. So he went back to Provo, but soon returned to California, this time with a RING. He got down on one knee in my grandparents livingroom and formally proposed.

They drove back to Utah in my mom's old Chevy, where she got a job at Primary Children's and set about planning a wedding. My dad got a day off because of the assassination of President Kennedy, so they used the time to make arrangements for the cake, church, and decorations.

With everything in place, Norma Jeanne Baum and Marlin Jolley Huff were sealed together for Time and all Eternity on December 6th 1963, in the Manti Temple. Seven years later, they welcomed the first of 4 children and the rest is history, 45 wonderful years of it.

Then.