One Texas couple has taken the phrase “true love lasts a lifetime” to heart.
John and Charlotte Henderson just celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary as the oldest living couple, at ages 106 and 105, respectively.
The couple, who got married in 1939, marked the milestone on Dec. 11 at the Longhorn Village Senior Living Community in Austin by indulging in a bit of nostalgia from their youth.
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The 106-year-old John picked up the love of his life in a 1920s Roadster with a bouquet of flowers, just as he did all those years ago when they met in class at the University of Texas in 1934, according to CNN.
Following the romantic arrival, their family and friends helped them celebrate with a big meal and a slideshow of photos of the couple.
For these two, every year is record-breaking. In 2018, they officially joined the Guinness World Records as the oldest living couple with a combined age of 211 years and 175 days, CNN reports.
Their great-nephew, Jason Free, had a hand in making sure their enduring love was recognized.
“They are a wonderful couple and an example of a very happy couple,” he told KXAN. “Glad to be around each other, travel together and live life.”
After all these years spent together, John and Charlotte have hundreds of memories to look back on, but Free said they don’t stay in the past for too long.
“They’ll tell you stories of the past, but they don’t dwell on the past,” he said.
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Tradition has been important to the Hendersons, too. John, the oldest living former U of T football player, sits in the stands at a Longhorn game at least once a year, KTLA5 says.
Jim Bissett, their friend in the senior community, has been pals with the couple for a decade now.
“They’re just gracious, nice, kind people. They’re salt of the earth,” Bissett told KXAN.
Their secret to a long life and happy marriage, John told CNN, is a life of moderation — that and being cordial to your wife, he added.
Their official wedding anniversary is Dec. 22.
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