Shine OnNorth Carolina man writes beautiful tribute to wife on 61st anniversary
Bob Phillips, 87, penned a beautiful tribute to his wife, Gail, on their 61st anniversary.
The Landis, North Carolina, man posted his heartfelt sentiments in the Celebrations section of the Charlotte Observer:
Dear Gail,
I look at newspaper pictures of new brides every Sunday. I'm searching. I want to see if there is now or ever will be another bride as lovely as you. Been doing that since June 27, 1953.
Actually, I already know the answer. There is not — and never will be to me — your equal in loveliness. On our wedding day you were the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The delightful truth is that you still are.
Happy anniversary, sweetheart. You've made me and you keep me the happiest and most grateful husband any bride could ever know. I'd gladly welcome another 61 years of marriage with you. Beyond that I pray we will spend eternity together.
All my love, Bob.
Bob's sweet letter melted readers' hearts.
"I hope one day I will be half the husband this man is," R.E., a Cleveland, Ohio, man, writes in the Celebrations guest book.
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"I don't think I've ever read anything more touching or more romantic. What a beautiful tribute & an inspiration in a day when people change spouses like socks. He's a keeper, sister! :)" writes Carol from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The tribute went viral across the country.
"Her first day as a student was my first day as a teacher," Bob tells the Charlotte Observer when asked how he met his wife.
Bob taught Gail for three of her four years of high school — he took a year's break when the military came calling — and then, upon realizing she "was more than just a pretty young lady," married her shortly after her graduation.
"She became a beautiful person — inwardly and outwardly," he recalls.
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The Phillips, who raised two daughters and a son, now live in Landis, North Carolina.
Because they used to live in Charlotte, Bob thought that running his anniversary announcement in the Charlotte Observer might help them reconnect with old friends.
Does "lifelong romantic" Bob really check the new brides every week?
"If he says he does, he does," Gail tells the Charlotte Observer. "He doesn’t tell lies."
Bob insists he does, joking, "I don’t know what I would do if I finally found someone," he says.
He adds that two brides have come close: their daughters.
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When asked to share their secrets to a long and happy marriage, Gail answers without hesitation: "Be good to one another. I want what's best for him and he wants what's best for me."
Bob adds that they also really like each other:
"Gail is such a likeable person," he tells ABC News. "Nobody could help just feeling good in her presence."
"My years with her have been for better or for worse," Bob tells WBTV. "But worse with her is better than better with anybody else."
Earlier this year, a Maine couple celebrating 70 years of marriage summed up their secrets to marital success in just one word: love.
"Love does it," Bud Lyford said of his marriage to his high school sweetheart, Jean.
What are your secrets to a lasting love?