15°c Partly cloudy
6°c Clear
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
It's been 70 years of love, devotion
Couple share marriage recipe
'We don't always agree, but we always respect the other one's opinion. We don't vote the same, but that's all right.' -- Ed Hudek talks about why his and Christine's marriage has lasted (TREVOR HAGAN/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ) Photo Store
If you're feeling a touch cynical this Valentine's Day, please consider the story of Ed and Christine Hudek. They've been married for 70 years and swear their devotion is deeper than when their life together began.
The pair smile when they're asked for the secrets of a successful marriage.
"Love," the 92-year-old Christine says simply.
"Love and respect," adds Ed, 95. "We don't always agree, but we always respect the other one's opinion. We don't vote the same, but that's all right."
He pauses.
"Well, I don't think we do. She won't tell me."
The couple, who celebrated their anniversary this past weekend, look at each other fondly across the room. They live in a St. Vital assisted-living apartment filled with the mementos of a rich, full life. Both are in surprisingly robust health. Ed is a little hard of hearing, but his speech is clear and strong. Christine is delicate, a lovely bright-eyed woman who moves with the aid of a walker.
They could be mistaken for a decade or more younger.
The pair met in a Saskatoon church in 1939. She was studying arts at the University of Saskatchewan. He was working on his science and agriculture degree. She intended to be a librarian. Her future husband was planning to farm. They were both strong Catholics who saw each other for the first time at mass.
Ed asked Christine if she'd attend a college dinner with him. They went together for three years before they were engaged. Each wanted to graduate from university first.
"She told me I had to ask her dad. He said yes, but told me I had to look after her."
It would be a small wedding in 1942. Christine's father died two weeks before the service, so she walked herself down the aisle, clad in a pale pink dress she'd worn to graduate from university. There were 30 guests.
Asked if she was nervous, she shakes her head.
"He was waiting at the other end."
The couple moved onto Ed's family grain and livestock farm. The babies started to come, three daughters and five sons. It was a hard life and Christine worked alongside Ed, learning to drive a tractor and milk cows in the process.
"I was quite happy to learn," she says.
"She was a little hard on fences," he teases.
Ed was offered a teaching positition at a university. He took it, spending seven months a year in the classroom and five months farming.
"We finally had to decide if we were going full-time farming or full-time teaching," Christine says.
In 1956, Ed was asked to be the University of Manitoba's head of agricultural engineering. The family decamped to Winnipeg.
The couple had an exciting life. They lived in Sudan for three years. Masks from a side trip to Kenya decorate the wall of their home office. They stayed active in the church.
"Our faith was our base," Christine says. "We never had differences as far as our faith was concerned."
They worked through any problems that came along.
"We had our differences, but we talked it out," Ed says. "Love went on."
He turns serious when he's pressed for advice on how to stay married.
"The other person is going to have different opinions and so forth. Respect them. Realize that most of them aren't worth arguing about. They don't have to change them.
"You have to be supportive of each other. I wasn't always there when every baby was born. But I was there every night to help out."
They credit annual summer vacations with their kids to keeping their family strong. They'd pack up the car and drive through Canada coast to coast or meander through the United States. They now have 19 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Sara Berger, the couple's 28-year-old granddaughter, was married in 2010. Having them at her wedding was priceless, she says.
"I remember my grandpa putting his arm around my grandma and leaning down to kiss the top of her head. The fact that I was able to see that on my wedding day, to have that example meant everything."
lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 13, 2012 B1
More Local
- Back to Top
- Return to Local
More Local
(1 of 14 articles for today)
U of M researchers awarded $9.5M in grants, U of W $2.2M
12:14 PM 0Researchers at the University of Manitoba will receive $9.5 million in new funding for grants and scholarships from the Natural ...
About Lindor Reynolds
Lindor Reynolds began work at the Free Press as a 17-year-old proofreader. She was fired three weeks later.
Many years later, armed with a university education, she was hired as a columnist. During 16 years on the job she has managed to avoid being sacked again.
Lindor has received considerable recognition for her writing. Her awards include the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ general interest award and the North American Travel Journalists Association award.
She has earned three nominations for the Michener Award and has been awarded a Distinguished Alumni commendation from the University of Winnipeg. Lindor was also named a YWCA Woman of Distinction.
She is married with four daughters.
Poll
Most Popular Local
- Firefighters pull man from submerged vehicle
- Apple trick on Ellen falls short for city woman
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- The end of the credit card?
- Mourners line up to pay respects to Elijah Harper
- Couple faces new charges of sexual assault
- Gentle, humble native leader who made history lies in state
- Police identify slaying victims
- Power restored to Linden Woods after goose collides with lines
- A new mom's booze-fuelled hell
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- '2 minutes after I read the winning numbers, I retired': Winnipeg lotto winner
- Sex charges for ex-club boss
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Police identify slaying victims
- 'Responsible Winnipeg' ads appear on sign run by mayor-owned Goldeyes' baseball park
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Headingley grass fire destroys dealership's cars
- Firefighters pull man from submerged vehicle
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- A child-custody catastrophe
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Man charged, victims identified in double homicide
- Co-worker 'sick' today? Maybe it's the $17M flu
- '2 minutes after I read the winning numbers, I retired': Winnipeg lotto winner
- Parents, community relieved and elated as missing boy found safe
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Man missing since 2009 found safe
- Earls on Main going, but new one coming
- Power restored to Linden Woods after goose collides with lines
- Firefighters pull man from submerged vehicle
- Accomplished Paralympian wins seat in B.C. legislature
- Elijah Harper: The humble man who said no
- WAG's 100 Masters exhibit drawing more than art aficionados
- Goose gets cooked in Linden Woods
- Province courts European workers
- True meaning of Mother's Day
- Police identify slaying victims
- Tuxedo residents allege nightmare neighbour
- Province introduces changes to rules governing landlords, renters
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Fishing for fashion
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Sex charges for ex-club boss
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Newly minted MD a beacon for kids in youth program
- Power restored to Linden Woods after goose collides with lines
- North End proud
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Mental-health patients get own ER
- A child-custody catastrophe
- Black market in moose thrives
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Steen invests $1M in family entertainment centre
- Earls on Main going, but new one coming
- Province introduces changes to rules governing landlords, renters
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Boost same-sex curricula: union
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.