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Living Life After 50
February 2024 Gary Hambel Has Attended 40 Jimmy Buffet Concerts See Page 4
Allen County edition ReAChing FoRt WAyne And SuRRounding CountieS Vol. 36, No. 10
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Love is still in the air,
By CATHY SHOUSE Feature Writer
Sandi and Denny Baron’s wedding day went anything but smoothly. But their marriage has thrived since they tied the knot the afternoon of June 17, 1967. “Our wedding day was unimaginable,” Sandi said. “When our cake was delivered to the reception hall, the elderly man in charge got confused and had booked it for another couple. The other couple had already decorated it, and their cake was in place. My mother told the baker to take the cake back, and she would call them later. She returned to tell me what had happened and had a meltdown asking, where would the 300 guests go? I picked up a telephone book . . .
Finally, at 2 p.m. I found a place near Cincinnati, Ohio, that had a cancellation because of death, and it could hold 300 guests but we would have to provide our own piano.” The Barons’ big day started in chaos. They even stepped out the door of the church to thunder, a clap of lightning, and pouring rain after taking their vows. But their sweet union is still going strong. Denny was 24 and Sandi was 22 when they took the plunge. They’re ages 81 and 78 now, and to top it off, both of them began new careers in education — in another state, more than 1,000 miles from home. “I was an English teacher for 33 years and now an author of ‘Bridging the Mississippi,’ which is a story about us as newlyweds and first-time teachers in New Orleans. We were the token integrators for NOLA assigned in an inner-city,
all-black school.” The Barons have travelled extensively, and went back to New Orleans to research for the book and to celebrate its release in 2022. “We have been tour guides to the British Isles and most of Europe,” Sandi said. “We taught teaching strategies in Kazakhstan and English as a second language in Thailand. I’m an oil painter, and I loved visiting art museums throughout Europe and America.” Their faith is important to them. In 1996, they renewed their marriage vows during a visit to Israel. “Faith in Jesus has been our cornerstone, and he has held our marriage together because we have devoted our lives to following Jesus. I was raised in the church and even preached sometimes on Sundays when I was a teen. ... At age 33, Denny decided to give his life to Christ and our relationship
grew much closer to God and each other.” Denny said, “I chose someone I could laugh with. Humor is how I embrace life. We met on our only blind date. I think I knew she was ‘the one’ when she asked to borrow my new convertible to visit her parents in Ohio, and I said yes.” The Fort Wayne couple’s son, John Foster Baron, and his wife and their two daughters live a mile away. They visit Washington state regularly to visit their son, Adam Baron, and his wife and two children. They withstood a health scare in 2020 when Denny went into cardiac arrest, which led to quintuple bypass surgery. Sandi has had surgeries and is sometimes in pain. “We both intend to be active and enjoy our social groups despite unexpected bumps in the road,” Sandi said.
more than half a century later