Secrets
Continued from Page 19
Jack and
Elaine Barbash
children. He wasn’t.”
In that year, everything changed.

“I was attracted to him as a camper,
but it was in the year that we wrote to each
other that I began to really value who he
was and what he believed,” she wrote. “I
was attracted not only to his looks, but to
his character.”
They were married at the Oxford Cir-
cle Jewish Community Center and now,
50 years later — and with five children
and 30 grandchildren — they travel to-
gether and commemorate their love,
though not always with flashy anniversary
celebrations. “We usually don’t do anything partic-
ularly special for our anniversary,” she
said. “Fortunately, we have a good life and
don’t feel the need to mark a special day
because truthfully, pretty much every day
is a good day.”
For Rona Michelson, a marriage and family
therapist in addition to a tour guide, the secret to
their 50 years of happiness, as well as a happy, long marriage in gen-
eral, has to do with several attributes.

“Mutual respect, shared values, a good sense of humor and stub-
bornness,” she said, “so that even when difficult times come along,
Name: The Mens From
and Boys
Store to Generation
Generation Width: 3.625"
A Family Tradition
Depth: 4.75"
For All Occasions
Color: Black plus one
Comment: Simchas
Ad Number: 00069369
a couple needs to press on and stick to-
gether and get through them together —
even if the individuals are not at that point
feeling loved and supported.”
After 65 years, you can still hear the
love between Jack and Elaine Barbash,
who live in Northeast Philadelphia and
celebrated their milestone wedding an-
niversary on March 18.

The two met on a blind date after
Elaine’s cousin gave Jack her number, and
the rest is history.

While they don’t remember where ex-
actly they went, Elaine recalled that “when
he walked in, I knew he was the one be-
cause he was dressed so meticulously.”
“And from that minute on, we were,
you know, we went together,” Elaine said.

For them, a key ingredient to a long, hap-
py marriage is teamwork and looking out
for each other, whether it’s getting each other
somewhere they need to go or the fact that
when Jack gets up for ice cream, he always
asks Elaine if she wants some, too.

It’s also the little things, like when
they’re out taking a walk and 97-year-old Jack, a
World War II veteran, proudly points Elaine out
to a stranger: “See that woman there? We’re married 65 years!”
As with all marriages, they have their ups and downs, but they
don’t let that deter them.

“We’re there for each other for everything, we talk to each other,
Name: Cong. Tiferet Bet Israel
Width: 3.625"
A S Simcha
mcha in n Your Future?
Future ture e?
Depth: 4.75"
Color: Black plus one
Comment: Simchas Fall 2016
Now w you
y need
eed ee
ed Ad Number: 00070159
Formerly of Fleets
Photography Courtesy of Hy Paul
T AILORED C LOTHING
S PORTSWEAR
A CCESSORIES
F OOTWEAR
F ORMAL A TTIRE ...

S ALES & R ENTALS
F OR M EN & B OYS !
Sizes 4-50+
Regulars • Slim
Huskies 215-914-2060
WWW.THEMENSANDBOYSSTORE.COM 20
OCTOBER 27, 2016
T HE E A FFAIR R F AIRR
Party Planning Expo
Tiferet Bet Israel
1920 Skippack Pike • Blue Bell, PA
Sunday, January 8, 2017
11:00 AM—2:00 PM
One Stop Shopping for
Catering • Invitations • Musicians & DJs
Entertainers • Kosher Wines • Flowers
Decorators • Video and Photography
Favors • Special Occasion Attire
Party Planning Services • Salons & Spas
Free Admission
Beratan Family
HOURS: M. T. TH. F. SAT. 10-5 • WED. 10-8 • SUN. 12- 4
RED LION RD. & HUNTINGDON PIKE
HUNTINGDON VALLEY, PA
Mazal Tov!
Vendor Inquiries Welcome
Beth Anne • Susan
gabisab@gmail.com • director@tbibluebell.org
617-548-0191 • 610-275-8797
Celebrating Our 19th
Anniversary SIMCHAS
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



Elizabeth and
Edward Marks
we do things together, we’re together a lot at this point in our lives,”
said Elaine, now 87. “My motto is, live today because you don’t know
what tomorrow brings.”
They also never let their age deter them. “Age never mattered
with us,” Elaine said, adding with a laugh, “He keeps up with me.”
For their anniversary, rather than have a lavish party, they went
out for a nice family brunch at the William Penn Inn with their chil-
dren, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

They both said they feel truly blessed.

“Elaine always says she’ll take another 65 years,” Jack said, to
which Elaine responded, “I sure will.”
For some, relationship origins can be summed up in a song.

Edward Marks started singing “Standing on the corner watching
all the girls go by … ” from Pal Joey when Elizabeth Marks recalled
how the two met. It’s a fitting song, since that’s pretty much how
Edward noticed Elizabeth in the beginning.

“We met in South Philadelphia,” Elizabeth Marks recalled. “My
husband-to-be was standing on the corner with his boyfriends be-
cause that’s what boys did — there were no malls to go to. He would
see me walking to my grandmother’s house. He noticed me and fol-
lowed me home one day and asked me for a date. That was our first
getting to know each other.”
For their first date, they went to the now-defunct Woodside
Amusement Park to celebrate his birthday. They began “courting”
but got interrupted when Edward went into the Army in the early
’40s, though they exchanged letters and kept in touch.

When he returned, he went back to his studies in electrical
engineering at Drexel University, while Elizabeth studied
secondary education at Temple University. They were married
April 13, 1946.

Now they have three children, eight grandchildren and seven
great-grandchildren and have made 38 trips to Israel to visit their
daughter and family.

Their daughter had been a music major in high school, switched
gears to study nursing and then “decided to take time off and go to
Israel to help pick grapes, and she picked a husband,” Elizabeth said
with a laugh.

That daughter has been married 38 years, and the Markses have
taken the same number of trips to visit her, so until last year,
they never had to miss a wedding or a simcha because of the
distance. Now living in Willow Grove, Edward and Elizabeth credit love
for the not-so secret to reaching their 70th anniversary.

“I’d say love — getting us through problems, arguments, situations
but underlying of all of it is a deep, abiding love,” she said. “Love
and respect for each other. We’re thrilled with what we have, thrilled
with each other and thrilled with what we produced.” ■
Contact: mstern@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
Name: World Cafe Live
Width: 7.5"
Depth: 4.75"
Color: Black plus one
Comment: 10/27 Simchas Magazine
Ad Number: 00066114
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM SIMCHAS
OCTOBER 27, 2016
21