Jack Milligan has a simple explanation for why he and his wife, Joyce, have stayed happily married for 70 years.
“I still love her,” he said with a boyish laugh. “I can’t help it.”
The long-time Highland Village resident — he turns 90 years young this month — said he first met Joyce in 1950 when a mutual friend introduced them at church. He was smitten immediately by what he could only describe as an angel in human form and asked her on a date almost as quickly. As he stumbled through his next few words, he was convinced she’d say no.
“My friend said, ‘This is Joyce Pettijohn,’ and I kept thinking, ‘Oh, wow. She’s really cute,’” Jack said. “I didn’t have a lot of money at the time, but my brother let me borrow his new Ford truck for the date, and I took Joyce to play miniature golf in Bridgeport.”
Joyce admits she wasn’t nearly as convinced about her suitor, but she never once thought about turning him down.
“I didn’t know what to think of him at first,” Joyce quipped. “But I said yes, and the rest is history.”
On March 14, the happy couple celebrated seven decades together — not with mini-golf but rather a simple night out for dinner with family. And boy, what a wonderful life and family to celebrate. Together, they have two children. Their son, Jack Jr., tragically died in a car crash in 1980. But their daughter, Paula Wernette, lives in a house next door with her family and is a constant in her parents’ lives.
In all, Jack and Joyce have three grandkids and two great-grandkids.
After getting married in 1952, they traveled the world as Jack became an Army Chaplain. Joyce was a school teacher for a number of years, but mostly, she held down the fort at home as they spent time in such places as Vietnam, Fort Lewis, Washington, Alaska, New York, and Germany. Upon retirement, Jack was asked to be a prison chaplain for the state of Texas, and a few years later, he and Joyce started Trinity Baptist Church in Harker Heights, where they served for nearly 12 years.
They moved to Highland Village in 1996.
“I don’t know any other way,” Joyce said with a laugh. “We are very fortunate to be where we are at today. We are home and can visit with our daughter, who lives right next door to us. That’s what’s important — family.”
Jack agreed, adding that he can’t imagine how his life would have turned out without Joyce by his side.
“There’s probably been a time in some people’s lives when they’ve wondered why they [got married], but not for one minute with me,” Jack said. “She was the ideal Army wife. Whenever I had to do something, she’d go with me. We’ve had a wonderful life.”
In between a few wisecracks, Jack said he and Joyce do, in fact, have a secret sauce, if you will, to maintain such a long and happy marriage. And it all boils down to four actionable steps. The first is to accept the person you’re marrying for who they are. At the end of the day, he said that you would never change them. Number two is to build a trusting relationship. After all, trust is earned, not given, and one little lie will cause a second and third lie on top of even more down the line.
“Always tell the truth,” Jack said.
The third tip Jack shared is to listen. Everyone knows how to talk, but it’s an entirely different skill to simply listen first. Last but not least, know how to say you’re sorry and always find it in your heart to forgive.
“I’ve made a donkey out of myself a time our two in my life, but I’ve always told her how sorry I am,” Jack said. “You should never say that you’re sorry unless you mean it. And you should never forgive someone unless you mean it, too.”
As for the future, Jack and Joyce plan to celebrate even more anniversaries in the future. And as the years continue to pass, they’ll continue to look upon each other with the same love they had for each other when they were married 70 years ago.
“We’ve had a wonderful life together, and I love her,” Jack said. “That’s all I can say.”
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Love of a Lifetime: Highland Village couple celebrates 70th anniversary - The Cross Timbers Gazette
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