Couple marries in 1954 after short courtship, plays not-so-newlywed game

Norma and Jim Reagan, residents at Parkway Place, were eager to play the Not-So-Newlywed game after almost 60 years of marriage. On Valentines Day, they competed against two other couples in a game full of surprise, rekindled memories and laughs.

The Reagans, both natives of Mississippi, met on Halloween in 1953 and married later on April 17, 1954. Jim had caught Normas attention before she actually met him in person. She had moved to his hometown in Carthage, Miss., to pursue work with a local church. While looking for a place to stay, she spent an evening at Jims parents home. Jim was overseas fighting in Korea at the time, but she soon learned a lot about him from his parents.

While working at the church, one of Normas duties was to post the offering. She was impressed by Jim before she ever even met him, because he made sure to send his offering to the church all the way from Korea. Jim had begun to hear of the young woman who started working at the church through letters his mother wrote to him. When the two met in person, there was an instant connection.

I was struck by Norma the moment I met her, said Jim Reagan. She knew a lot more about me than I knew about her because she had visited with my parents frequently. I had been in Korea for 16 months before I came home. Meeting Norma upon my return was a pleasant surprise. We started dating almost immediately and married within the next six months. I proposed in the middle of December. We had started talking about marriage and she suggested we get married around Thanksgiving of the following year. I told her I couldnt wait that long. We decided to get married on the day of her parents wedding anniversary. Her parents celebrated their 27th anniversary the day we got married. It was also the day before Easter. Her mom made her dress, and she looked so elegant that day of our wedding.

Jim said the one thing that really caught his attention was Normas wonderful sense of humor. It impressed him immediately. He has always loved her ability to make him laugh. Growing up, there were two things that Jim was concerned about picking a life partner and deciding on a career. He prayed a lot for God to help him in those decisions. He says Norma was the answer to his prayers. Jim believes having the same spiritual goals is important and makes a marriage stronger.

Jims mom sends us an anniversary card every year the day before Easter no matter when Easter falls, laughed Norma. This gesture has always made us laugh. Even though we met in Carthage, we were married in my hometown of Laurel, Miss., which was 90 miles away. We had a minister from each church participate in the ceremony, and we like to think our marriage was tied extra tight because we had two ministers take part in the ceremony. Since my hometown was a distance away, my parents did not realize we had gotten so serious in such a short amount of time. When my mother found out that we were due to get married after only five months of dating she said, Norma Ruth has always been a level-headed girl and now she has gone off the deep end. We felt we were very mature though, and our love for each other has stayed strong over the years. Now if one of our children had pursued a similar route, I think I would have felt a little differently toward the idea.

Norma believes that sharing similar interests with your significant other is a vital part of the relationship. She said that she and Jim have a close bond because they have a lot in common, have the same aspirations, the same desires and set the same priorities.

After living in Carthage for a couple of years, the two traveled to Oxford so Jim could acquire two engineering degrees, then the couple moved to Port Arthur, Texas, and ultimately to Houston. They said that throughout the years of their marriage they have developed new interests together and that a couples interests change over time. From being young and starting out, to raising a family to retirement, the Reagans have experienced many wonderful life events together.

The couple joined two others to participate in the Not-So-Newlywed game on Valentines Day, complete with a chocolate fountain with strawberries for participants and those watching to enjoy. The Reagans competed against the Smiths and the Hodges. Questions included everything from knowing their spouses favorite flavor of ice cream, to knowing which habit of theirs that their spouse would like them to break, to knowing the color of their house shoes, to knowing their eating habits and preferences.

I told Jim we better brush up on the trivia of our lives, joked Norma. We know the other couples, so we think the game will be a lot of fun.

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Couple marries in 1954 after short courtship, plays not-so-newlywed game