Sue and Andy Barham married in 1963.

A year before Nike started making shoes.

Nearly 10 years before HBO offered its first telecast.

And 13 years before Steve Jobs started Apple.

In 62 years of marriage, the Barham’s lived in various states, had two children and owned a business. Sue and Andy Barham reside together in Fort Worth at The Tradition retirement home.

Celebrating 60 plus years of marriage, the couple has reached their diamond anniversary which is rare amongst couples in the U.S. Only 2% of couples claimed this milestone in 2018, according to Bowling Green State University, a National Center for Family and Marriage Research.

How they met

In 1962, Sue’s sorority sister at the University of Arkansas met Andy over the summer. She thought Andy was the nicest man and connected the two. Sue traveled to meet him for the first time in August before Andy went back to graduate school at Louisiana Tech University.

Andy explained that in the ’60s, if you did not meet someone in college to marry, you met someone quickly after.

Following their wedding in June of 1963, the newlyweds moved to Kingsville, Texas. Andy went to work for Celanese Chemical. Sue taught the third grade.

In 1963, 119-265 men were inducted into the military through the Selective Service System for the Vietnam War.

Within six months, Andy was drafted into the military for two years. He left for Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Sue stayed behind in Kingsville.

The couple was apart for six months out of the first year of their marriage.

“It really kind of set a pattern, because then later on, he traveled and was gone all the time, and it was okay,” Sue said.

Upon request, his company managed to get him out of active duty, and instead, he served in the National Guard for the next six years.

During this time, Sue and Andy moved to Houston.

Ready to start a family, the couple learned they had a one in 10,000 chance of having a baby, so they turned to adoption.

The couple applied to adopt a boy or girl from a private Episcopalian home. After being approved, they were notified the wait time was half a year.

Six weeks later, the couple received a call informing them there was a baby girl in need of a new home. Unprepared, they went to pick up their first child, Jennifer, born Feburary of 1967.

Over a year later, Sue beat the odds and gave birth to their second daughter Stacy, who later went on to attend TCU.

Following their time in Houston, the family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to raise their two daughters.

Andy traveled often due to his job as an international salesman. After being fired, he struggled to find a new job.

In 1985, Andy bought a personnel franchise moving the family for the final time to Fort Worth.

“Sue could have shot me because she wound up running the business, and I went back to selling," Andy said.

Sue applied her skills from teaching to running the business until they sold it in 2004, marking the start of their retirement.

Now, Sue and Andy are grandparents to Stacy’s four children and are involved at First Presbyterian Church, where they volunteer extensively. Their faith holds a significant place in their marriage as they see God in everything they do.

Although the couple hardly knew each other when they married in 1963, their love stays strong after 62 years of marriage, reaching a milestone many couples never do.