After 81 years of marriage, San Marcos residents Sam and Blanche Weiss are still as much in love as they were when they met in their teens. Sam was 18 and Blanche was 15½ when they first laid eyes on each other at a Sweet 16 party.
“Sam was at the party, and I kind of liked him and he liked me," said Blanche, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. "We played spin the bottle and post office, and all the sexy games that they had years ago."
Blanche’s dad, a businessman who always wore suits, wasn’t too fond of Sam when he came to the house in sneakers to take his daughter out. Sam had grown up in upstate New York.
“I lived off of what I was making,” Sam said. “I had dress shoes but didn’t wear them unless I had a reason.”
When they were ages 20 and 17, they decided to get married. Blanche’s parents said it would never last because they were too young.
“We lied on our age to get our marriage license,” Sam said. “We almost didn’t get it because we were refused without a birth certificate. So we went to another city and when the guy asked for our birth certificates we said, ‘Birth certificates? We didn’t think we needed it at our age!’ We made ourselves one year older than necessary.”
The lovebirds, who live at the Brookdale Senior Living community, celebrate their 81 years of marriage on March 18. They tied the knot in 1934.
The couple offered advice on a long lasting marriage.
“You have to have a sense of humor," Blanche said. "You have to look at different things and not make it so important. You can joke about it. You have to have respect for each other. You have to be able to communicate. Talk when you have a problem instead of not taking about it."
Sam’s system for getting along and avoiding arguments is simple: “She talks and I listen.”
Sam and Blanche have lived in San Diego County since 1936. He was an electrical engineer and she was a homemaker. They have three children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Their son Marty Weiss turns 77 in May.
“For people married longer than my parents, there’s only 15 worldwide according to Wikipedia,” Marty Weiss said. “And most have only been married longer by a few days, weeks or months.”
Weiss said he feels blessed to have both his parents call him on his birthday at his age.
Sam is 101 and Blanche is 98. They said they don’t think about numbers — they just focus on loving the time they have together, and maintaining a positive outlook on life.
“I say no long-range plans. I don’t buy green bananas,” Blanche said. “It’s day by day, but we just enjoy.”
Editor's Note: Blanche Weiss family notified us that she passed away on April 18th, 2015 They write : "She went softly with her loved ones close by. She had a wonderful life and marriage."
