By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Brandon Twp. — After about 30 years of marriage couples often transition to retirements, grandchildren and some new perspectives in their relationships. With Valentine’s Day about a week away three area couples recently shared their journey, insight and just a little advice now that the kids have grown.
In 1959 Herb Geisler needed a date for a roller-skating party his senior year of high school so he asked St. Clement School classmate Grace Wigand.
“I did not have my eye on her until my senior year,” recalls Herb.
“I was thrilled to go,” said Grace, who was academically the number two student in the Class of 1960. “Herb was our Senior Class president and was having a big function to go to.”
“She definitely had the brains,” laughed Herb.
The couple continued dating their senior year of high school.
Grace went on and attended Providence School of Nursing then located in Detroit for three years. The school required the students to be single to attend. So, after graduation the couple were married Sept. 7, 1963 at St. Clement’s Catholic Church in Center Line.
“We opened our money from the wedding gifts and took off driving west,” said Grace. “We got as far as Utah, then our money ran out and we came back.”
The couple ended up at the Mormon Tabernacle and enjoyed a musical performance.
“We stayed in six-dollar motels,” added Herb. “After Labor day it was cheaper. We just followed our maps, no GPS.”
Grace continued her career as an RN for about 12 years serving at Holy Cross in Detroit and Wheelock Hospital in Goodrich. Herb and Grace moved to Brandon Township in the late 1960s. Herb worked as a florist and purchased Willow Pointe, 425 Ortonville Road, in 1973, where they worked together in the business for about 40 years.
“Marriage is not easy, you have to work at it,” said Herb. “There were many disagreements, there was a lot of stress working together too, a lot of demands.”
Grace gave up nursing after about 12 years to work at the couple’s business.
“Herb had the ambition to open the store,” she said. “I took over the paperwork of the business and I worked in the front of the store while Herb was in the back with the flowers.”
Herb said the secret to a successful marriage is to stay committed to what was promised on your wedding day.
“We both had parents that were married a long time to whom we could emulate and we shared a like religion,” she said. “It help us get along better. We shared a strong work ethic and also had the same goals. We had to work together, our livelihood depended on the success of the business.”
The couple would take vacations each year together, except during Valentine’s Day when the florist business thrives.
Just stick with the marriage, added Herb.
“They always say never go to bed mad,” he said. “I’ve gone to bed mad plenty of times over 60 years of marriage, not sure where that came from. But by morning, after sleeping on it, I’m better.”
The couple have two children Monica and Gregory both Brandon High School graduates.

Just three days into Jim Lusty’s freshman year at Powers Catholic High School in September 1973 he took a chance and asked to sit with then Sophomore Lynn Yancho at a mandatory movie in the school gymnasium.
“She said yes,” said Jim. “We stayed friends over the next three years and went on a few dates, but she was always too busy for anything more.”
They remained friends and in May 1981 the pair attended two family weddings in two days.
They were engaged about six months after the weddings and were married July 23, 1982 at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Burton.
Over the next 42 years the longtime friends continued to grow their relationship which now included four children, all girls Angela, Bonnie, Carrie and Marianne along with 12 grandchildren. The couple have been Atlas Township residents for more than 30 years.
The couple’s advice to others, find a church and grow in that community.
“As a couple you can’t do it alone,” said Lynn, who remains a stay-at-home mom and an accomplished musician. “That way you can share your faith. Jim and I have supportive friends, we all pray together too. God has always been and continues to be at the center of our relationship.”
Make time for your spouse, added Jim who recently retired after a 35 year career as a registered nurse at Hurley Hospital in Flint.
“Communications with your spouse is paramount,” he said. “Share your day with each other whether texts, emails or whatever. Set up dates too, just for you two.”
Life is always busy between jobs, families or taking care of a home, added Lynn.
“That’s a given,” she said. “If the house gets a little messy, or the lawn grows too much, just let it go for a few hours. That can be fixed. But take that time and spend it with our spouse, way, way more important.”

In January of 1985, during a Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA tour concert, Robin and Neil Loughlin got to know each other. Three years later, with 13 witnesses, they got married. They have been married for 36 years.
“I was supposed to go to a Springsteen concert with some guy friends, my roommate, and this one other girl,” said Robin. “And I had told my roommate a few weeks before that I thought that guy Neil was kind of cute, we didn’t really know each other, I didn’t even know his last name at the time. Well, the day before, that other girl couldn’t go to the concert, and they guys we were going with asked Neil if he wanted the extra ticket, and we ended up sitting next to each other and getting to know each other.”
Robin said she thought Neil was funny and had a good sense of humor. Neil said he thought Robin was easy to talk to.
“God had a plan,” said Neil. “God had a good plan.”
At the time, Robin was a freshman at Perdue University in Indiana and Neil was a senior. Following Neil’s graduation, the two continued to date long-distance until Robin graduated while Neil started work for Chrysler in Michigan.
“We write letters and talked on the phone, and we saw each other every two or three weeks,” she said.
The couple was engaged in 1987, and Neil said it just seemed like it was going to happen.
“We knew we loved each other,” he said. “She was in town up here for the Grand Prix, and I had my friends and I come up with a ruse that we were all going out. I rented a limo and gave her the ting and fortunately she said yes.”
To save money, they couple got married at a small ceremony in Indianapolis, with only his parents, her parents, her sister and her three nieces and nephews, her grandma, her brother, and his two sisters and brother-in-law in attendance. They also got married on Indy 500 weekend.
“We were used to it, both being from Indiana, and we didn’t think about getting a hotel,” said Robin. “I started calling a month prior and everything was a two or three day minimum, and everything was booked, and we left for our honeymoon early the next morning, so we ended up staying at Neil’s parents because we didn’t even think about it.”
Neil said when they returned and finally got to Michigan, he realized that no one had to leave.
“When we were long-distance, I’d drive down there for the weekend, and you knew around 4 p.m. on Sunday night you had to leave, and you just kept watching the clock,” he said. “Then, we got married, we went on our honeymoon, and we were in our apartment on Sunday night, and I realized no one had to leave. It was so nice.”
For the following five years, Neil and Robin carpooled to their jobs, him to Chrysler and Robin to Dearborn to work for Ford.
“We especially enjoy being together, so we were married for five years before kids,” she said. “I never really thought I’d be a stay-at-home mom, and then we decided to see if I could stay home, so I decided to take a year off work to see if we could, and we did.”
When their oldest son was in third grade and their youngest was in first grade, Robin started working at the Brandon Township Public Library, having brought her sons to so many programs there.
“When we first moved up here, we’d never heard of Ortonville,” she said. “We’ll have been here for 32 years now.”
The secret to their lasting marriage, they said, was their strong faith in Jesus Christ, being united in parenting their two sons, being financially in sync and taking interest in each other’s hobbies.
“I had not heard of Studebakers, and now I’m drag racing them,” said Robin. “And when I was running more, he started doing races with me.”
They also said their typical Friday nights used to consist of pizza bought with a coupon and a dollar movie rental. While they still have their separate hobbies, they still do a lot together and enjoy doing things together.
“In the mornings, we walk together a lot,” said Neil. “And we talk about our schedules or sometimes nothing of importance. In the summer, we liked to just sit on out porch and spend time together.”
The couple also watches their grandson, Jordan, every Friday, which they love.