Longtime
Continued from Page 17
Paul and Evelyn Becker
But then Paul Becker went to serve in the Army and wanted to
receive mail while he was away. He began writing letters to those
he knew and sent one addressed to his future wife’s family, as it was
his family, too, via his sister.

Evelyn Becker, 94, answered the letter.

“And then I wrote another, and she answered that one,” he said,
“so then I started writing Evelyn, and we wrote maybe for a year.”
He’d gotten a furlough from the Army and returned home and
they gave it another shot and began dating again.

After he was discharged in 1945, they continued seeing each
other. They married in 1946 and raised three daughters.

“We’re just compatible,” he said. “We help each other. We re-
spect each other’s space.”
They weren’t “mushy letters” he was writing, he noted. But they
were enough that they created a relationship and led her to accept
his offer of marriage.

They married at Beth Am when it was at 58th and Warrington
— it later moved to to its current suburban location — and the re-
ception was held at Paul Becker’s parents’ house. He remembered
cooking turkey and briskets with his mother.

When they were younger, they liked to travel together. They
spent two months across Asia, in countries such as Japan, China
and what is now Thailand. They spent a month in France where
they just rented a car and traveled around.

Enjoying time together is not just what Paul said is the “secret” to
their marriage, but should be a tenet in any marriage or relationship.

“Do things together,” he advised. “We never felt the need for a
separate vacation.”
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Paul and Evelyn Becker
Bernard and Ruth Spekter had a meet-cute that sounds like it
came right out of a romantic comedy.

Bernard Spekter, a World War II veteran who served in the
Air Force and earned a Bronze Star, started a commercial office
supply company in Philadelphia, of which he served as president
and owner for many years. Ruth Spekter worked as a secretary at
the time for a company he visited to solicit business.

“I just saw Ruth casually and then I met her again in Atlantic
City,” Bernard Spekter, soon turning 99, recalled, “and we struck
up an acquaintance.”
From there, their relationship progressed. They got engaged
and were married in a rabbi’s study in 1947. They recently cele-
brated their 71st anniversary.

In that time, he said — as the other couples mentioned — it was
hard to find an apartment. So when one became available in West
Philadelphia, they seized the opportunity.

“We were supposed to be married in June, but because this
apartment became available, we took it and her mother thought
that because we got this apartment and married so soon that per-
haps Ruth was pregnant, which was not the case,” Spekter laughed.

They lived in the one-bedroom, Murphy bed apartment for
many years before moving to a larger space.

The two, who’ve belonged to Main Line Reform Temple for
more than 65 years, are proud parents of two children, four grand-
children and five great-grandchildren.

In their lives together, they’ve traveled all over, met popes and
fostered an appreciation for art — especially Ruth Spekter, who has
long been active with the Barnes Foundation, as they lived in Lower
Merion; conducted art tours throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada;
and carried a suitcase of books about Albert Barnes with her when they
traveled. “I’ve been dragged through more museums that I can count,
but that was my wife,” he said with an affectionate laugh.

To him, there are many pillars of a strong, lasting relationship
— even in the midst of hard times.

“First of all,” he said, “the woman I married is one of the most
loving caring [people]. I could never have gotten where I am without
her understanding, and bringing up children that I’m proud of to-
day. Just love each other and respect each other and try to help each
other. “You have to be able to say you’re sorry when you do something
wrong,” he continued, adding, “and fortunately, my wife is so for-
giving.” ❤
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