Meet the Couple Who Said “I Do” 80 Years Ago

The most beloved couple this summer is not a Hollywood hookup, a millennial matchup, or some other modern-day version of romantic partnering. No…the hands down, can’t-touch-this, walk-away winner is an Arkansas couple who married the year Tina Turner was born.

“When we got married, we were children,” says Arwilda Whiteside who celebrates her 94^th birthday this week. “I could cook and embroider.”

She was 13…turning 14, and her new husband was 17 with a mind set on a lifetime with Arwilda.

Cleovis Whiteside proudly remembers, “I told her she was going to be my wife.” And, he was right. For more than three-fourths of a century and still counting.

“I never had given it a thought,” he says. “Five years ago, we were at 75…I wasn’t looking to make 80. It rolled around here fast.”

For the 80^th anniversary, their children and extended family threw a party they will remember for years to come. As pictures followed timelines, Mr. and Mrs. Whiteside became social media darlings.

One Big Family Reunion

“If you could see how all of those children came together and did that church, it was beautiful,” shares Mrs. Whiteside.

Some family members traveled hundreds of miles to celebrate with them. There were close to 200 relatives at the party. Margot Davis, their niece, lives in St. Louis, but she packed her bags and spent the weekend toasting her dad’s sister in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

“It was just breathtaking to see the love in their eyes, their expressions towards each other, and when they are talking about each other to others,” Davis says. “There are no words…my aunt and uncle are the perfect match.”

The Whitesides remember when they were just starting their married life, and times were tough. There was a war raging in Europe. The Depression was still fresh in the minds of most Americans.  And, for Black Americans Jim Crow ruled in the South and elsewhere. Yet, their love and young family sheltered them from despair.

“We grew up with our children, and we can laugh and talk,” Mrs. Whiteside explains. “We have fun! I played with the kids when I was young. I’d play mud cakes. We’d build sandcastles…and, my husband played football.”

“A year after we got married, things took off real good,” Mr. Whiteside explains.  “We were farming and working hard…she helped with the business.”

Then, when America entered World War II in 1941, he enlisted in the military. After the war was over and Mr. Whiteside returned home, he like thousands of other young men went to college on the GI bill to pay for his education. He attended what is now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a HBCU, for three years after which he started working at the Pine Arsenal where he worked for 34 years until retirement.

Mrs. Whiteside says, “We’re not flashy people…we’re just us. He’s getting weak at 98, but he is still my husband. Every night I tell him I love him.”

With 80 years of marriage on their side, the Whitesides are content, happy, and strong in their faith. Mrs. Whiteside’s conversation is punctuated with a sweet praise, and she credits “God’s goodness” for a union that has defied the odds.

“We’re always pinching ourselves to see if it’s us,” she adds.

And, it is. A beautiful example of happily ever after.