So Happy Together After 79 Years

They met on a blind date during World War II. Phil Thomas was in the Army, about to be shipped out overseas. Jean Thomas was 16 years old.

"My friend couldn’t go out unless she went with another couple,” Jean Thomas recalls about that fateful day back in 1943. “We both said, ’Sure we’ll go.' And we went with them. That was the beginning.”

It’s two hours before their 79th anniversary party Friday afternoon at Tuscany Villa on the East Trail. Jean Thomas is having her hair done in the beauty parlor on the second floor by her favorite hairdresser, her youngest daughter Joelle Thomas.

Joelle spins her mother around in the chair to show off her new hairdo. You can see immediately why Phil was nervous the first time he met Jean on their blind date. She’s still a beautiful lady at 96. 

“We looked at each other and both had the same idea,” Phil Thomas, 99, said of their blind date. "She’s too pretty for me. She’d never like me. So why even start?”

Just like happens in Hollywood's romantic comedies, the “tag along” couple clicks, while the host couple falls flat.

"As soon as we got there,” Phil recalls, "they started to fight, and took off. That started us off right there. That was in Chicago. We went to the Aragon Ballroom and danced all night.”

They didn’t waste time in tying the knot.

"We had a long engagement,” Phil jokes, "what was it, an hour and a half?”

Actually it was three months. They married on July 29, 1943. Shortly thereafter Phil, an Army instrument technician, was shipped off to England to help piece together war planes. He and a fellow comrade were tasked with repairing airplane instruments in advance of D-Day.

"We’d send out squads to pick up downed planes,” Phil said. "We said, ‘as long as they’re not damaged in the cockpit, take the instruments out and bring them to us. Me and my partner were instructed, no matter what happens, to keep working. D-Day is coming and we’re going to need more planes. We worked around the clock. They even brought meals to us. We didn’t go anywhere. We buckled down and got 19 planes ready that wouldn’t have been ready for D-Day. That was 1944.”

So what’s the key to staying blissfully in love for 79 years?

"Don’t go to bed mad,” Phil said emphatically. "If you’ve got a problem, solve it before you go to bed. Otherwise you’re not going to sleep, it’s going to get intense, and in the morning you’re really going to be mad at each other.  No, solve the problem before you go to bed, so you go to bed and go to sleep.”

Jean agrees with her husband. But she doesn’t remember too many occasions when she was unhappy with Phil.

“He’s right, there,” Jean agrees. "But I never really got mad at him much. Once in a while.”

"Yes, dear,” Phil quickly interjects.

Jean laughs and says, "That’s right,” smiling back at Phil.  

Phil and Jean are the model couple at Tuscany Villa. The staff seems genuinely giddy about celebrating their 79th anniversary with them.

"They are the most pleasant couple,” said Georgie Romeo, Tuscany Villa’s Executive Director. "They get involved. They play bingo. They’re like our fixture. Their family is so very supportive. So if there’s anything like a holiday, they all gather around. They’re a really tight family. I wish we had more like them. They’re great people. They never complain. They're both entering their hundreds. They’re just amazing. You don’t see marriages that last 79 years. We’re really lucky to have them.”

When asked about the highlight of their 79 years together, both Phil and Jean are in total agreement.

"Having our children,” Jean said.  "Doing things with our children, I would say.”

Phil reaches behind his chair and grabs a framed eight by 10 photograph of their six adult children, standing arm in arm with happy expressions.

"We had six kids, right here,” Phil said, looking at the photograph. “They’re all doing well. They’re all hard-working people. I put them to work early.”

“They’re wonderful people,” Jean adds. "They’ve all grown up to be wonderful people. Which really means a lot.”

Suddenly two of their great-granddaughters bound into their room. One immediately hugs Phil while the other hugs Jean.

The girls can’t wait to accompany their great-grandparents to their anniversary celebration at the end of the hall.

The celebration is tied in with Tuscany Villa’s afternoon happy hour, with live entertainment. A beautiful cake, baked and decorated for the occasion, is flanked by glasses of champagne and sparkling grape juice. The honored couple is photographed by beaming family members and staff members. 

“I love it,” Jean said. “The people are so wonderful here. They’ve treated us very well.”