Siblings proud of collective 331 years of marriage
Published 10:45 pm Monday, July 23, 2007
Martha Young began counting on her fingers. She read in the June 10 Herald that a South Carolina family of five siblings had been married, altogether, for 233 divorce-free years.
Pish posh, Young thought.
She added it up. Her siblings have been married for 331 years.
Beat that.
Known throughout the neighborhood as the “Grimm kids,” they were born and raised on an Arlington farm homesteaded by their grandfather, Thomas Jensen, in 1886. The history was provided by Martha Young from Stanwood.
All attended local schools, graduating from Arlington High School from 1935 through 1944. All but one celebrated a 50th wedding anniversary and all reached the age of 80 plus.
Bill, (William T.) the eldest Grimm son, was born in 1916. He married Rosemary Marquardt in May, 1944. They had one child and two grandchildren, lived their entire married life on the family farm, and celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1994.
Mr. Grimm served in U.S. Army Alaska Communications Division in World War II. He worked at Consolidated Dairy Products (Darigold) in Seattle. Rosemary Grimm was a housewife and stay-at-home mom. She died in 1996 and Mr. Grimm in 2003 after a total of 52 years marriage.
George Grimm was born in 1918. He married Arlene Haugen in May, 1947. They had two sons and three grandchildren and lived their whole married life on the family farm. Arlene Grimm was a housewife and stay-at-home mom. George Grimm served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy Air Transport Command in World War II then came home to operate the farm until retirement.
The George Grimms celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary shortly before Arlene Grimm passed away. He married Violet Tate in May, 1993. She died in 2006 and he still resides on the family farm at age 89, next door to the original farm house.
The third born, John Grimm, was born in 1921. He married Betty Jane Anderson in June, 1945. They adopted two children and have two grandchildren. John Grimm served in the U.S. Army in World War II.
After the war, John Grimm attended Washington State University and was the only one of the siblings to graduate from college. The couple moved to California in 1956 where they made their home and celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2005.
John Grimm’s career was spent in sales in the dairy products industry. Betty Grimm worked for many years and retired from Montgomery Ward. He died in 2006 after a total of 61 years marriage. Betty Grimm still resides in California.
And the Grimms had girls. Martha Grimm (now Young), born in 1923, married William (Bill) Young in 1942. They had two children, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
The couple lived in Seattle for 25 years. Martha Young worked in insurance and for Western Airlines and her husband worked in the iron and steel business.
The couple moved to Camano Island in 1967 where they spent 33 years. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1992. Bill Young served in the U.S. Army in World War II. He died in 2000 after 57 years of marriage. His wife lives in Stanwood.
The fifth Grimm youngster, Dorothy Grimm, was born in 1924. She married George Carroll in 1947. They had six sons and 16 grandchildren. The Carroll’s live in Mount Vernon in a home they built more than 50 years ago.
Dorothy Carroll was a stay-at-home mom. George Carroll served in the U.S. Air Force in World War II then was employed in the bus transportation industry.
They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2007.
The baby of the Grimm family, Betty, was born in 1927. She married Lou Keller in 1946. They have two daughters and four grandchildren and celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in 2006.
For the first part of their married lives, they lived in Kirkland, then moved to California, then returned to Redmond in 1981. She worked in banking in Seattle, real estate in California, then worked for the Lake Washington School District until her retirement.
Lou Keller served in the U. S. Navy in World War II. He was employed at The Boeing Co. and then in law enforcement. After 61 years of marriage, she is 80 and he is 81.
So here is the Grimm rundown of wedded years:
Parents of the Grimm brood were William G. and Dora (Jensen) Grimm, prominent Snohomish County pioneers, Young said. They were married in 1907 and celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1957.
“Father was one of the organizers and subsequent president and general manager of the Snohomish County Dairymen’s Association,” Young said. “Mother was a truly outstanding farm wife who dearly loved gardening, both vegetable and flower, especially her roses, and was a wonderful cook.”
Although they lived on a farm, her father did not do the farming, Young said. That part was rented out.
“However, we got our unpasteurized milk and cream from the renters. We ate Darigold butter every day and lots of cheese and evaporated milk in coffee and in cooking as that’s the business dad was in.”
Their home life was simple. They did their chores and still had time for baseball, roller-skating, winter sledding, Future Farmers of America, Rainbow Girls and Sunday drives to Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, Darrington, most of them on gravel roads.
“About once a year we were treated to a trip to Seattle where we had dinner in a fine restaurant,” Young said. “All six of us took music lessons at one time or another but have to admit no one stuck with it in later years.”
After 52 years of marriage, her father passed away in 1959 at age 76 and her mother in 1960 at age 72.
Did you notice all the men served in World War II?
“There was great great pride in everyone for the fact that all the sons and sons-in-law were in the service of our country in WWII,” Young said. “George was the first son to enlist and that got the ball rolling.”
So much to be proud of for sisters and brothers Grimm.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
