Alle-Kiski Valley couple celebrates 70 years of marriage, 75 years in love

An instant schoolgirl crush proved to be a life-changer for Vivian Beers.

“I saw a guy sitting outside with a bunch of boys and I said to my girlfriend, ‘See that boy over there? I’m going to marry him,” said Vivian Beers, 89, of Winfield.

That boy was Jim Beers, then a 16-year-old junior at Freeport High School.

Vivian was a 14-year-old love struck freshman, then known by her maiden name, Artman.

Her friend, coincidentally Jim’s cousin, played matchmaker.

Vivian’s prediction proved prophetic. The couple married five years after they met, during Jim’s 15-day military leave on Nov. 1, 1950, at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Leechburg.

“My mom and I went to Pittsburgh and I bought a blue suit at Kaufmann’s,” Vivian Beers recalled. “I wanted blue because Jim was in the Air Force.”

More than 200 people attended the evening nuptials.

“We planned that wedding fast,” she said.

Vivian recalled Jim working overtime cleaning his car in preparation for their wedding day departure.

“Jim cleaned that car — oh boy, was it clean,” Vivian said. “Some of our friends took bales of straw and stuffed the car full of straw.

”I never saw my mother so mad. Jim was cleaning it because I had allergies.”

Vivian said her wedding anniversary is more than just a date on the calendar.

“It’s 70 years married, but 75 years of loving each other,” Vivian said.

Family first

At 91, Jim suffers from dementia, but a devoted Vivian is never far from his side.

The couple said they’ve endured tough times during their marriage, especially regarding health, but credit their faith and family as steadfast sources of comfort and support.

“Our family is our life,” Vivian said. “They are always there when we need them. They’re very precious kids, every one of them.”

The Beers have two daughters, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The couple lived on a home with acreage in Buffalo Township for more than 50 years. They moved to Concordia at Cabot when taking care of the property became too challenging.

Jim’s habit of staying outdoors during thunderstorms tested Vivian’s “in sickness and in health” vows, requiring a bedside vigil when Jim was struck by lightning and knocked from his horse on a family farm in Leechburg during their courtship.

“He was trying to bring the cows in during a storm and they found him unconscious on the ground. I took care of him,” Vivian recalled.

She said Jim went on to survive two additional lightning strikes — one while holding a metal license plate at Devereaux Chevrolet in Freeport and another while trying to repair a broken rain spout on their porch during a storm.

Joe Weltner of Harrison said his grandparents have been a constant presence during his life.

“They never fought with each other, and if they did, they kept it behind closed doors,” Weltner said. “I’m certain they are a massive factor in why I’m the person I am today. Some families aren’t so lucky to be so close-knit. My grandparents are the tough fabric that keeps it all together.”

The couple share fond memories of numerous camping trips together and touted a family cruise to the Bahamas as a favorite vacation memory.

“There’s very few states that we haven’t touched,” Vivian said. “We were campers.”

Jim retired from a 35-year career at Du-Co Ceramics in Saxonburg and Vivian is proud of her years as a homemaker and her later job at Bonello’s restaurant in Freeport.

The couple are members of St. Paul Lutheran Church and renewed their vows for their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries.

“I realize now how much of our family and everything is gone, and how many would be so proud to have seen us meet this day,” Vivian said.