THUNDER BAY — A Thunder Bay couple will soon celebrate a milestone in their marriage.
Marlene and Lorne Dubois have reached their 66th wedding anniversary. Three of their five children, Sherry Dubois, Shelley Dubois, and Debbie Atwood, recently spoke with Dougall Media about their parents' long-lasting marriage.
The patriarch of the family, Lorne Dubois, was born in 1939 and raised in Fort William. His future wife, Marlene Dubois (née Ruthven), was born in 1940 in Saskatoon, Sask., and moved to Fort William after the Second World War.
The pair met in high school. They married in 1958 while expecting their first child, Debbie.
The growing family stayed busy with their family-owned business, Tilden Rent-a-Car, which the couple ran for years.
Debbie showed off some of the original newspaper ads for the rental agency, with funny caricatures of her father depicted in each small ad.
Eventually, the couple retired in 1984, with Lorne at the tender age of 45 years old.
He and Marlene spent their days travelling, wintering in Texas and enjoying a family-owned property on Pass Lake.
Growing up on Glendale Crescent, Marlene made all the kids' clothes until the youngest Dubois, Lorna, went to school.
"The day that she could go to work (at Tilden) and buy clothes, she swore she'd never touch a sewing machine ever again," laughed Shelley.
The sisters said their parents struggled with the affordability of having five children but always strived for family-focused relationships.
"We can have a family gathering with any number of us, and everyone just gets along and has a good time," said Shelley.
"It's really phenomenal, especially talking to other people and hearing what their family dynamic is like, and every family is different. But we don't have those competitions or internal fights or things like that."
All three sisters said their parents' relationship and work ethic instilled those same values in them.
Shelley said her parents never fought. "If things got difficult in their lives, they would book a weekend, get a babysitter and take off and go to Winnipeg for a weekend.
"They just had a way of communicating."
Shelley noted that their family is quite large, with five siblings who had 11 children, and from there, more kids kept coming.
To date, Lorne and Marlene have 20 great-grandchildren, and another is expected in the next three weeks.
When asked what they think their parents' lasting legacy would be, Sherry, in almost unison with her sisters, said, "We're their living legacy.
"They're absolutely proud of family," said Shelley.
The couple's big 66th-anniversary party is on Friday, when there's expected to be a large family turnout in celebration of their lasting nuptials.
