Ohio couple celebrates 100th birthdays, 79 years of marriage: ‘Been a good life’: Earlier last month, a married Ohio couple celebrated 79 years of marriage. Now, they’re turning 100.
In 1922, June Malicote and her husband Hubert Malicote were both born 10 days apart, on July 13 and 23.
On Friday, July 15, the Eaton Road Church of God in Hamilton, Ohio, hosted a combined birthday party for the couple from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for family, friends, and church members.
Approximately 130 people came to enjoy the occasion with the couple.
During a phone interview with Fox News Digital, Hubert Malicote said, “We just kind of live by the day and then we’re 100 years old.”
When they first convened in 1941, the Eaton Road Church of God was known as a different name.
They went to a church revival in September of that year with their own groups of friends.
June had been sitting in the pew directly behind Hubert when he grinned at her from behind him. He was infatuated with her.
He recounted how after the ceremony he and other young people went to grab ice cream and speak and spent a pleasant day together down the street at an ice cream parlor. “There were no vehicles of any kind in the area. As a result, she went her own way, and I followed suit. I had a rough idea of how I was going to make contact. And so I decided to go to church.”
So on Sunday, he made his way to church, where he found her. “We sat down and had a terrific conversation.”
After a few weeks of this, they went to a county fair for their first date. After the fair, Hubert and June had their first kiss in June’s house.
“I didn’t know what to do,” he stated, expressing his confusion. “In those days, I was just 19 years old, and I was a country lad at heart. When she wore red, I thought, “Oh, she looks lovely.””
He went on to say, “I reached over and gave her a kiss and a quick hug.”
When they kissed, he ran out the door because he was so terrified about it.
Naturally, he was concerned about June’s reaction to his sudden departure. The week was a whirlwind of ideas for him.
Upon meeting June again, he found that there was “no resentment” and “everything was fine.”
For a year, their friendship and love blossomed.
During World War II, Hubert joined the United States Navy.
Torpedo school at Newport, Rhode Island, followed his training at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois.
June stayed at his side and worked at an equipment company in Ohio to help the war effort.
“Speeding along, I couldn’t keep up with it. It was time to decide what to do next “Hubert made the comment. It was time for the two of us to get married.
At the time, a pre-marital blood test was a necessity for obtaining a marriage licence, so the pair took an overnight trip to Indiana to do so.
They returned to Hamilton as soon as possible to tie the knot in the church where their romance began. June wore a cousin’s outfit and made a bouquet of roses from the climbing rose porch of the church.
On June 8, 1943, their pastor proclaimed them husband and wife.
Hubert’s deployment began shortly after their romantic wedding, and he was forced to board a train to travel across the nation. Between San Francisco and Honolulu, he made his way.
In Pearl Harbor he spent two years working on torpedoes and submarine serpents.
“We were not allowed any telephones or telegraphs—any communication that might indicate where we were,” Hubert said on Fox News Digital. In the commissary one night, “a grass skirt” was hanging there.
He said, “That kind of struck me with the idea.”
“If I could get that back to [June], she might be able to figure out where I was. So I sent it to her, and two or three weeks later I received a parcel from a lovely lady dressed in a grass skirt. That message was sent, and we now know the answer.”
Hubert returned to his hometown of San Diego in 1945, having completed his military service.
Hubert added, “I wrote a telegram to my wife [informing her] of when I will be back.” “When we arrived at Anderson, Indiana’s train station, there was no one waiting for us. But there was that gorgeous little girl again, dressed to the nines, strolling along the train’s lengthier track. ‘She’s waiting for you,’ the conductor remarked. Well done on making it on time!”
A five-acre ranch on which they constructed a home and raised three children, all of whom are now in their late teens or early twenties, is where they currently reside.
Hubert noted that he and June have seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
“It’s been a wonderful, wonderful marriage,” he said.
June and Hubert are a terrific match, according to June, and their marriage has been wonderful. She had a stroke two years ago, which left her with a speech impediment.
As June put it, “[It’s] been so easy to get along with each other”. “We haven’t had a single argument.”
According to their daughter, Jo Malicote, who spoke to Fox News Digital, neither of her parents had ever spoken harshly to the other.
“We may have had some disputes. However, we’ve always found a method to fix them “Hubert made the following statement. “We’ve always held the belief that you shouldn’t do anything to injure someone you care about. And if you have a problem or a disagreement, don’t let it fester; think about it, talk it out, and then move on.”
June, on the other hand, remarked that because her spouse is attractive, she found it easier to keep the peace.
In addition to being longtime members of their congregation, the Malicotes have held a variety of leadership positions within it.
With his music experience and his wife as a choir conductor, Hubert commented, “My wife has done an excellent job making cantatas for Christmas, and I’m proud of her.”
He went on to say, “I’ve always felt that a happy home is where God is. “Just a good life so far, that’s all it has been. It’s always a plus when people operate well together. A nice place to call home.” There hasn’t been a specific birthday wish from the pair yet. With the assistance of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, they were able to blow out all 100 birthday candles on their cake.
According to Hubert and his wife’s daughter, Jo, it’s probably in their genes, but he doesn’t know why the two of them have been so fortunate as to share their 100th birthdays.
“My father was 104 years old. My father’s great-grandfather lived from 1822 to 1922, a century and a half “According to Jo, who spoke to Fox News Digital, she said. Because of this, they are in good health.
Both Hubert’s and June’s parents are natives of Kentucky, and they both inherited their parents’ farming skills
“We bred and slaughtered chickens for our family. Whether it was pig or beef or chicken, my father had his own beef cattle and we were able to produce our own food from scratch “Jo made the statement.
“We ate everything from green beans to beets to lettuce because Mom had so many gardens. We had it if it grew in Ohio. And Mom preserved it in various ways, including canning, freezing, and drying. In other words, we ate well before it was fashionable.”
She carried on, saying, “Health publications are encouraging people to cultivate their own food now. They were raised in this manner. You would die of starvation if you didn’t cook your own meals in their time.”
“As a result, they mastered this skill as children. That’s how they raised us, too.”
Jo Malicote added that she believes her parents’ longevity is due to the fact that they’ve always had something to occupy themselves.
Their work ethic hasn’t deteriorated with time, as Jo observed. There is never a shortage of things to fix on our five acres, because we own them.
