Dee Sele was a shy freshman at Arlington High School. She was very athletic and was also song queen.
Al Vance was in Dee’s older brother’s class. He was very outgoing, a quarterback who loved sports.
It was back in the early 1950s when song dedications were printed in the school newspaper.
He dedicated “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” to her. The next week she dedicated “Always” to him.
Al met Dee when he invited her to the junior prom, a dressy dance. She got teased because she had to go home and ask her mother first.
“A first date with an upperclassman was kind of a big deal,” Dee said.
The couple found out immediately that they had lots in common. He took her to every prom and every ball, even after he graduated in 1953.
“He was a real gentleman,” Dee said.
By the time her sophomore year came around, Dee knew Al was the one for her.
Delaine and Allen Vance of Marysville celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary June 10 with a 15-day cruise through the Panama Canal with friends and an open house in May.
They were married June 10, 1955 in Arlington.
When they began dating, the admission for a high school dance was $2 per couple or $1.50 for a single.
“I had to go,” Dee said. “I was song queen.”
During the 1950s, Friedlander Jewelers was the big diamond store in Everett. That’s where Al went shopping to buy a ring for Dee.
While he was picking out something he thought she would like, who should walk into the store but Dee’s parents. They were buying dishes for their son’s upcoming wedding. Al couldn’t believe it.
“Do you think she’ll like this?” he asked my parents,” Dee said. “They knew before I did.”
Dee’s parents were farmers. They couldn’t afford to pay for a big wedding. When Dee and Al were married in Arlington Lutheran Church she wore what she had worn for graduation.
Trust has been one of the important things that has gotten Dee and Al through their 50 years of marriage. Dee would advise young couples to have patience with each other and to practice give and take.
“Honesty and communication too,” Dee said. “I think communication is very big.”
Al was the store manager at Safeway in Marysville for years. Dee worked for the school district.
Al is close to his two sons and three granddaughters. “They love him to death,” Dee said.
“I just look at him sometimes, and I think I’m pretty lucky,” Dee said. “He has been a wonderful husband and an excellent father.”
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