NC Couple Married 82 Years Says This Is Secret To Lasting Love

CHARLOTTE, NC — Even on its best days, the institution of marriage can be a challenge for even the best-paired couples. Look at the current divorce rate, and it shows. While the number of divorces has decreased in the U.S. in recent decades, 39 percent of marriages in this country decide to part ways, according to Time.

But one Charlotte couple, married 82 years, recently offered up their advice for a long-lasting marriage.

“The secret to a long marriage is just be nice to each other,” said D.W. and Willie Williams.

The Williams celebrated their 82nd anniversary and birthdays, which fall a week apart, with family and friends at the First Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church in north Charlotte last weekend. D.W. is 103 years old and Willie turned 100, ABC News reported.

“The celebration was a wonderful experience. It’s a pleasure to see history come together with these two people and to learn from them,” said D.K. Ferguson, who is the couple’s pastor.

The retired daycare nursery worker and meatpacking maintenance worker first met in 1935 in South Carolina, and married two years later. Together, they endured the Great Depression and Jim Crow segregation.

The couple’s grandaughter, BJ Williams-Greene, called their marriage an inspiration. “They communicate and make decisions together, they strive and achieve together and everyone loves them because they are genuine. They just inspire everyone to be the best they can be,” she said.

You can read more about the Williams’ story here.