When Forrest Pochert was recovering from malaria in Puerto Rico during World War II, he looked into the eyes of a young native girl he met there. He fell in love with her on that day.

Now, 66 years later, Pochert, 89, and his wife, Auristela, 91, are still married. They celebrated Valentines Day together by holding hands and kissing during love songs.

Staff members at the Westmont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center said, after six decades of marriage, they still greet each other every morning the same way — by saying, “Good morning Mr. Pochert,” and with Forrest responding, “Good morning, Mrs. Pochert.”

“You can still see how much they care for each other every day,” said Dawn King, activity director at the center. “They always take pride in the way they look, and they still have a twinkle in their eyes for each other.”

Forrest Pochert said the secret to their long marriage is communication, which he said is the key to staying together.

“You have to be able to share your feelings and enjoy doing things together,” he said.

But his wife had a much simpler answer for the secret to their success.

“We love each other,” she said.

The two met while he was in the Army, recovering from malaria that he contracted during the war. While stationed in Puerto Rico, he and one of his fellow soldiers were in a park one day in 1942 when a group of girls approached. Forrest Pochert, in a wheelchair because he was still weak from his illness, thought he never had a chance of meeting a lady. But Auristela and him started talking, and the rest was history.

The two were married a short time later, on Nov. 20, 1942. Being that Auristela was from a traditional, Puerto Rican family, she said Forrest had to ask permission from her father in order for them to marry.

“I remember her father was a huge man, about 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, and he was the local sheriff of the town,” Forrest recalls. “I thought the guy was going to kill me.”

But he accepted the request and the two married, beginning their life together by purchasing a farm in Butternut, Wis., raising cattle and other animals.

While Forrest Pochert said he grew up on a farm, his wife claims she did not know anything about farm life before the couple moved there.

“I thought he was crazy for wanting to live on a farm,” she said.

But they made it work for 35 years, raising three children there.

One of the fondest memories the couple have together is a fishing trip they took at a lake in northern Wisconsin. Living on a farm was a 24-hour-a-day job, and the couple seldom got a chance at a vacation.

Auristela Pochert said even though she lived on an island, she never went fishing, since girls were never allowed to go when she was young. Forrest Pochert said he taught her how to fish, and she ended up catching more fish then he did on that trip.

“It’s something I’ll never forget,” she said.

As far as offering advice for people looking to get married, Auristela said couples need to learn not to be angry at each other for very long and learn to tolerate each other.

“And don’t pick a red-head,” Forrest Pochert said. “They have a hot temper.”