Harry and Bettye Gresham celebrated their 70th anniversary this month. (Photo courtesy of Kim Malcolm)
Saying Bettye and Harry Gresham have known each other their entire lives isn’t much of an exaggeration.
The couple, who recently celebrated their 70th anniversary, can’t pinpoint the exact moment they met. “We more or less grew up together,” says Bettye, now 92 years old.
The couple spent their childhoods in Centerville, a small town about 120 miles southeast of Dallas. “We did things together but never dated,” Bettye says.
Then, as high school upperclassmen, Harry invited her to a football banquet. They quickly started dating, but World War II stalled their romantic relationship.
“He went into the service and was gone a year-and-a-half,” Bettye says. “When he came back from the Army Air Corps, we started dating again. He enrolled in the college I was going to, and we dated another year or so until we married.”
The Greshams later moved to Dallas and lived in the L Streets for 53 years before moving to a retirement home in Richardson. “We do miss our neighbors, but we’re very happy where we are here,” Bettye says.
The couple now spends time with their four children, 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, many of whom celebrated their 70th anniversary with them.
“I think any of us, our spouses and kids would say they are — and always have been — the most wonderful parents and the most wonderful examples of love and sacrifice for family,” says daughter Kim Malcolm. “They’re just such wonderful, Godly people that we couldn’t be more blessed.”
