San Bernardino, CA – The 2012 state winners of the annual Longest Married Couple Project sponsored by Worldwide Marriage Encounter, the original faith based marriage enrichment program in this country, were announced today.

“The number of years many of these couples are married is just awesome,” explained Scott and Karen Seaborn, the United States Leadership Team for WWME. The Seaborns serve with Fr. Tom Griffith, SVD, as the U.S. Ecclesial Team.

“There were 256 nominations from 47 states,” the Seaborns explained, adding, “There are four couples married 78 years, many couples married 70 plus years and quite a few couples with 60 plus years of marriage. What a testament to having a commitment to a long marriage!”

The longest married couple in the United States, based on the nominations submitted, is Wilbur and Theresa Faiss of Las Vegas, NV. They are married 78 years having made their
marriage vows on April 14, 1933. The Seaborns will be traveling to the Faiss’ hometown on Feb. 11th to personally honor them at a special ceremony.

This year individual state winners will be recognized and honored by couples involved with Worldwide Marriage Encounter, all across the country, over the Valentine’s week and weekend.

Winners of the initial project, which was held last year, automatically became members of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter Longest Married Couple Project Alumni group. Couples cannot succeed themselves each year as either national or state winners, thus giving an opportunity to honor other longest married couples across the country.

The list of the 2012 state winners and their hometowns are as follows:

Alabama – Joseph & Louise GreyMobile AL 72 years

Arkansas – Roy & Vola EdgmonLowell AR 78 years

California – Primitivo & Mauricia Ballesteros Sunnyvale CA75 years

Colorado – Chuck & Inez Massana Pueblo CO 76 years

Connecticut – Charles & Dorothy Baldis Granby CT 65 years

Delaware – Valentino & Mary Nardo Wilmington DE 71 years

Florida – Ned & Martha Dickson Lake Placid FL 75 years

Georgia – Victor & Ellen Della-Giustina Augusta GA 66 years

Hawaii – Percy & Helen Chun KaimukiHI 74 years

Iowa – Ray & Margaret Kuethe Sumner IA 76 years

Idaho – LeRoy & Frances EllwoodMeridian ID 71 years

Illinois – Dale & Doris Chatfield Chicago IL 73 years

Indiana – Jack & Thelma Flory New Haven IN 69 years

Kansas – Gilbert & Barbara Knipp Scott City KS 72 years

Kentucky – Bob & Agnes Schneider Lexington KY 75 years

Louisiana – Charles & Nelda Bernard Lafayette LA 70 years

Massachusetts – Malcolm & Ellen Brown Westminster MA 70 years

Maryland – Joseph & Stella Sheleheda Solomons MD 73 years

Maine – Norm & Joan Putnam Bryant Pond ME 63 years

Michigan – Joseph & Margory Zelesky Flat Rock MI70 years

Minnesota – Pinky & Maree Skorich Marble MN 74 years

Missouri – Bob & Shirley Hill Arnold MO 62 years

Mississippi – Thomas E. & Helen B. Haffey Lexington MS 71 years

Montana – Ben & Betty Hanson Miles CityMT 69 years

North Carolina – Carl & Cyndi Whaley Richlands NC 76 years

North Dakota – Earl & Elizabeth Hanson Cooperstown ND 71 years

Nebraska - Harold & Iola (Ole) Meierhenry Fremont NE 78 years

New Hampshire – Vincent & Ruth Trainor Milton NH 76 years

New Jersey – Emil & Carol Tiusty Wallington NJ 65 years

New Mexico – Zack & Eloisa Montoya Albuquerque NM 73 years

New York – John & Victoria Frontera West Seneca NY 72 years

Ohio – Earl and Maxine Martin Vienna OH 71 years

Oklahoma – Andrew & Grace Stagner Hinton OK 63 years

Oregon – Erman& Erma Johnston Albany, OR 78 years

Pennsylvania – Paul & Martha Shannon New Castle PA 72 years

Rhode Island – Philip & Norma Monte Narragansett RI 66 years

South Carolina – A.J. & Margaret Lewis Columbia SC 69 years

South Dakota – Durwood & Arlene Bouzek Hot Springs SD 64 years

Tennessee – Bernard & Doris Green Crossville TN 68 years

Texas – Ted & Marie Keller Amarillo TX 73 years

Washington – John & Hilda Phillips Deer Park WA 70 years

Wisconsin – Joseph & Rosemary Grout Madison WI 73 years

West Virginia – Vinton & Juanita Marshall Bluefield WV 70 years

Wyoming – Paul and Vivian Smith Big Piney WY 73 years

Worldwide Marriage Encounter has been offering weekend experiences for over 42 years and
is considered the original faith-based marriage enrichment program. The programs are continually updated to keep abreast of changes in society, and WWME now offers evening and half-day programs that are presented at parishes and other church facilities. The weekend program, traditionally presented as an overnight experience at a hotel or retreat center, can also be presented at the parish where the couples return to their homes in the evenings. WWME has a presence in over 90 countries, which makes it the largest pro-marriage movement in the world. In North America, the WWME programs are presented in English, Spanish, French, and Korean languages.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter offers married couples the opportunity to spend time together away from the busyness of the world to focus on each other. It offers tools for building and maintaining a strong, Christian marriage in today’s world. To learn more about the Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends online, go to wwme.org , or you can call 1-800-795-LOVE
(English) and 1-800-599-AMOR (Spanish), or contact the WWME Office at (909)
863-9963.

Media inquires should be directed to:

Dick& Diane Baumbach
(321) 544-3440 dickanddiane66@bellsouth.net