HE WAS 19 YEARS OLD AND SHE WAS JUST 18 WHEN THEY MARRIED ON MAY 14, 1924. “WE ATTENDED THE SAME ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,” ZELMYRA, 98, TELLS JET. “THAT’S WHERE WE MET.”
by Marti Parham
Countless songs have been written and sung throughout time about love that is everlasting. Herbert Fisher Sr. and his wife Zelmyra are not only living proof that such a love actually exists, they also have managed to make it work for an incredible 81 years.
He was 19 years old (almost 20), and she was just 18 when they married on May 14, 1924. But long before that, the two James City, NC, residents became acquainted with each other early on. "We attended the same [elementary] school," Zelmyra, 98, tells JET during an interview at their home. "That's where we met."
Over the years their childhood friendship turned into love, and from their union five children were born Alyce, Franklin, Norma, Herbert Jr. and Ludie. Today Mr. and Mrs. Fisher are the grandparents of 10 and the great-grandparents of nine.
In celebration of the 81-year-old marriage of Herbert and Zelmyra, 300 Fisher family members and close friends gathered together to honor the couple with a lavish hotel dinner. The event was also held to celebrate Herbert's 100th birthday.
"I feel good all the time," says the spry centenarian, who enjoys doing yard work such as cutting the grass and trimming the hedges. "When you sit down and don't do nothing you get stiff," he explains. "I ain't gonna sit still."
Herbert, a retired worker from the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, also likes watching TV and catching a baseball game played by his two favorite teams, the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves. The pastime is one that he and Zelmyra, a former caretaker, enjoy together.
Like most couples, the Fishers have had their share of disagreements, but according to Zelmyra, who spends much of her time reading the Bible, the quarrels they had were few.
"We didn't get mad a lot," she recalls of the years past. "We got along alright together." In a rare occasion that a falling-out did arise "he would always win," she says with a laugh.
The husband and wife team still lead a fairly independent lifestyle by continuing to live in the same house where they reared their children. Additional help comes from their daughter, Norma Godette, and her husband, Benjamin, who live nearby in New Bern, NC, and outside assistance is provided by a nurse who visits three days a week.
Iris Godette, another regular visitor and granddaughter to the Fishers, knew that a relationship that has lasted as long as the one that her grandparents share is something rarely heard. So, she did what a lot of people would do in possession of such valued information-contacted the Guinness Book of World Records.
"Unfortunately, I was informed by the Guinness Book of World Records that my grandparents just missed obtaining the record," says Godette. As of July 2005 a Providence, RI, couple, who are White and married 82 years, hold the record for having the longest marriage for a living couple.
The Fishers, however, could very well be the oldest Black couple to hold this phenomenal record. At JET press time Guinness did not respond to the request for comment.
Whether they've set a record or not, there is no denying that the Fishers have been blessed with a union that is exceptional. The couple doesn't proclaim to have any special secrets to lasting love or even long life. But, Herbert and Zelmyra both agree that if you "put God first in your life, and love and sacrifice for your family ... blessings will be bestowed upon you."
Posted By: Richard Kigel
Wednesday, March 10th 2010 at 9:27PM
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