LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas couple celebrated a huge milestone Friday. Janet and Melvin Swanson were married 75 years ago!
They have some secrets for you on paving the way to a long-lasting marriage.
The two locked eyes for the first time over seven decades ago.
“I was at his brother’s restaurant, standing in the doorway,” Janet recalled. “I looked at him, he looked at me, and that was it. He went home with me.”
Melvin added, “I said, ‘turn back the clock at midnight because it is going to be a night.'”
Three weeks later, they were married on May 14. Janet was 17 and Melvin, 20.
“We drove from LA to Las Vegas and got married and drove back home again, real quick, because he shipped out the next day,” Janet recounted.
Now, 75 years later, even a pandemic couldn’t keep the couple apart. When Melvin’s nursing home had to stop visitation, Janet continued to visit her husband through a window every day.
8 News Now was there for their 74th anniversary.
“That pleased me, coming to the window,” Janet said. “At least I saw him; he was healthy.”
The pandemic forced the Swanson’s to be apart for the first time in 74 years. They weren’t able to embrace each other, making this 75th anniversary extra special.
Their secret to a long, happy marriage?
“Love and don’t cheat,” shared Melvin. “Then, bring some money home.”
They also say a little humor thrown into the mix.
Janet tells us she will continue to visit her husband every day, as long as she is healthy.
