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Couples celebrate decades together

 
Published July 27, 2002|Updated Sept. 3, 2005

Elizabeth and Francis O'Grady of Palm Harbor recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a surprise dinner party in Connecticut given by daughter Ellen MacConnell and son, Jerrold. They were married June 14, 1952, at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, Yonkers, N.Y.

They came here in 1992 from Mahopac, N.Y. He retired in 1986 as union field representative for Professional Employees Federation of New York and she retired as a legal secretary with the Mahopac Schools System. After retiring, she worked five years in an educational alcohol and drug prevention program sponsored by the Archdiocese of New York. They have seven grandchildren, Ashley, Michael, Katie, Christopher, Jennifer, Victoria and James.

They are members of Espiritu Santo Catholic Church, Safety Harbor. He is a member of the Crystallaires Barbershop Group of Palm Harbor, president of the Men's Association of Lansbrook Golf Course, and a member of the Elks Club of Yorktown, N.Y. She is a member of the church choir and corresponding secretary for the East Lake Area Women's Club.

Norma and Mike Karaphillis of Tarpon Springs celebrated their 50th anniversary with a trip to Colorado and a visit with friends in the Georgia mountains. After they returned they enjoyed a family dinner in Tampa at a restaurant owned by a cousin. He is a native of Tarpon Springs and she was born in Miami. They met in Tarpon Springs in 1950 on Epiphany Day. It was love at first sight, but it took a year to close the distance and she moved here after they were married in Miami on June 29, 1952.

He is a retired schoolteacher and football coach. She worked many years as a medical assistant and is currently supervisor of Tarpon Springs Senior Center. They have two sons and a daughter and five grandchildren.

They are members of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and the Old Timer's Club, Tarpon Springs. He is active in Tarpon Masonic Lodge 112, Tarpon Springs; and she is active in St. Nicholas Philoptochos Society, City of Tarpon Springs Advisory Board for the Community Center and the Tarpon Springs Business Women's Organization.

Elvira and Cecil Lopez of Clearwater celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a party for family and friends hosted by their children, David Lopez and Pam Gleason, both of Clearwater. They are natives of Tampa and were married June 29, 1952, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Tampa.

They moved to Clearwater in 1952. He has owned and operated Service Shoe Repairing on Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater since 1946 and she is a homemaker. They have three granddaughters and a grandson. He enjoys all sports and she is a volunteer at Oak Grove Middle School.

LaVonne and William "Bill" Goodman of Clearwater recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends at Bridges Restaurant, Largo. They were married June 28, 1942, in Dawson, Iowa.

They came here in 1975 from Dawson, where he served 13 years as mayor. They have three children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is a Navy veteran of World War II, and then returned to Dawson, where he worked as a locomotive and passenger train engineer for the Milwaukee Railroad. In 1955, the couple started a business, Goodman's Mobile Homes and Travel Trailers, with locations in Dawson and Des Moines, Iowa.

Locally, they opened Beachcomber Creations in 1979, a wholesale handmade decorative candle company which is still in business.

During the war, she had an advantage in that she always knew when his ship was coming in because she worked in a government job tracking the location of all naval ships.

_ To submit an item to Good for You, write to Betsy Bolger-Paulet, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756, or call (727) 445-4176 Monday or Tuesday.

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