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by Troy Peterson, for the Tillamook County Pioneer
Tillamook is home to a marriage longer than most people in Oregon have been alive.
Dr. Roy and Claire Peterson, arguably one of the most inspiring pairs of people in the county, will celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary Dec. 31 surrounded by friends and family.
Roy, 96, and Claire, 96, met as freshmen at Washington State College in Pullman, Wash. on a blind date, over a Coke, in the Cougar Cottage in September 1941 and were married Dec. 31, 1944 in Colfax, Wash.
Soon after graduation from Washington State, in the 1940s, the two permanently relocated to Tillamook where Roy – or “Doc” if you prefer – was a veterinarian and Claire worked as a secretary before the couple started their family.
They have three children: Anne (Richard), Jean (David), and Eric (Loretta); 11 grandchildren: Erika (Julio), Robert (Tammy), Lindley, Leslie (Nathan), Sarah (Scott), Sean, Meredith, Katie (Jordan), Jessica (Greg), Patrick, and Troy (Kelly); 6 great-grandchildren: Georgia, Hannah, Zoey, Matthew, Michael, Carolyn; and 2 great-great-grandsons: Marcus and Mykah.
Seventy-five years together has given the couple innumerable memories and stories they are always happy to share with those around them. In their three-quarters of a century in Tillamook, both have served on numerous organizational boards and have been very socially active.
Roy and Claire still live in their Tillamook home, go on daily walks, enjoy well-made tuna fish sandwiches topped with bread and butter pickles, and laugh – several times – every day.
Happy anniversary you two love birds! You are so very much loved. Now go turn on Glenn Miller’s “String of Pearls.”
