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After 73 years of marriage, Bruno and Charlotte Nutof’s relationship is stronger than ever.
The couple will celebrate their anniversary Saturday July 31 and earlier this month were honored at a milestone marriage celebration at Hanover Township. In the age of quickie divorces, this marriage has withstood the test of time.
“People today give up much easier,” the Nutofs’ daughter Joanna said. “Their generation doesn’t believe in divorce, and they stick it out. They’ve set the example for us.”
Charlotte, 92, recalls meeting Bruno, 93, when she was a sales girl at a department store in Chicago in the mid-1930s. Bruno’s mother, a regular store customer, introduced her son to Charlotte. Bruno said he returned to the store a few weeks later to ask her out on a date.
“I wouldn’t go out with him unless one of my girlfriends came along with me,” Charlotte said. “I didn’t know him and was afraid to go.”
Charlotte eventually agreed to a double date. Within a year of dating, the two were engaged.
Bruno and Charlotte married on a hot summer day in the South Side of Chicago surrounded by 200 friends and family members.
“The weddings today do not compare with ours,” Bruno said, adding money was scarce at the time.
With three children, five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, the Nutofs feel blessed to spend their days in the presence of their family. Their daughter Joanna lives nearby and brings her children over for regular visits.
“When our grandchildren and great-grandchildren visit, that’s the height of our happiness,” Charlotte said.
Though one of their daughters wants them to relocate to live closer to her home in Florida, after being Bartlett residents for 18 years, Charlotte said she and Bruno don’t intend to move and are content with their life here.
“We were born and raised here (in Chicago),” she said. “We want to stay here until the day we die.”
Their mutual understanding is one of the main reasons the pair believe they have stayed together for so long. Both attribute agreeing with each other as the secret to their successful marriage.
Bruno said he looks forward to celebrating his 75th anniversary with his wife.
One thing that remains up for debate after all these years is who’s the boss. When asked who runs the show in their marriage, Bruno said it’s not his wife, but only to a certain extent.
“I wear longer shoes than she does,” he said.
After 73 years of marriage, Bruno and Charlotte Nutof’s relationship is stronger than ever.
The couple will celebrate their anniversary Saturday July 31 and earlier this month were honored at a milestone marriage celebration at Hanover Township. In the age of quickie divorces, this marriage has withstood the test of time.
“People today give up much easier,” the Nutofs’ daughter Joanna said. “Their generation doesn’t believe in divorce, and they stick it out. They’ve set the example for us.”
Charlotte, 92, recalls meeting Bruno, 93, when she was a sales girl at a department store in Chicago in the mid-1930s. Bruno’s mother, a regular store customer, introduced her son to Charlotte. Bruno said he returned to the store a few weeks later to ask her out on a date.
“I wouldn’t go out with him unless one of my girlfriends came along with me,” Charlotte said. “I didn’t know him and was afraid to go.”
Charlotte eventually agreed to a double date. Within a year of dating, the two were engaged.
Bruno and Charlotte married on a hot summer day in the South Side of Chicago surrounded by 200 friends and family members.
“The weddings today do not compare with ours,” Bruno said, adding money was scarce at the time.
With three children, five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, the Nutofs feel blessed to spend their days in the presence of their family. Their daughter Joanna lives nearby and brings her children over for regular visits.
“When our grandchildren and great-grandchildren visit, that’s the height of our happiness,” Charlotte said.
Though one of their daughters wants them to relocate to live closer to her home in Florida, after being Bartlett residents for 18 years, Charlotte said she and Bruno don’t intend to move and are content with their life here.
“We were born and raised here (in Chicago),” she said. “We want to stay here until the day we die.”
Their mutual understanding is one of the main reasons the pair believe they have stayed together for so long. Both attribute agreeing with each other as the secret to their successful marriage.
Bruno said he looks forward to celebrating his 75th anniversary with his wife.
One thing that remains up for debate after all these years is who’s the boss. When asked who runs the show in their marriage, Bruno said it’s not his wife, but only to a certain extent.
“I wear longer shoes than she does,” he said.
