Love Story: Anthony and Ann Marie Cancellarich

Ann Marie Cancellarich of Carle Place recalls her first date with husband Anthony.

Although my husband Anthony and I were born six months apart in 1942 at Bushwick Hospital in Brooklyn and later were in the same graduating class at Willoughby Junior High School, I first became aware of him when we were 15 years old. It was 1956 and he was working as a soda delivery boy. For two years he would bring cases of soda to our house every Saturday. My mother would often comment to me on what a nice-looking boy he was, but I would laugh and say, "Mom, he's too skinny!"

Then in 1959, my girlfriend set me up on a double date with her, her boyfriend and his friend. When my blind date came to the door to pick me up, I recognized him as the soda delivery boy. He remembered me, too! We were now 18, and to me Anthony was no longer a skinny kid but a handsome young man. I was thrilled to go out with him!

He had moved from Bushwick to Queens Village the previous year. On that first date we went to the Town and Country Club on Flatbush Avenue for dancing and a show. We continued dating and on May 5, 1963, we were married at St. Joseph's on Sydam Street in Bushwick, the same church his parents had their wedding in.

We've had a lot of exciting adventures since we met, like when a fire started under the hood of Anthony's car on our second date and he had to put it out with his jacket. Then there was the trip to Florida for our honeymoon. When we got on the train at Penn Station, neither of us realized the porter hadn't brought our luggage on board. The bags arrived at our hotel five days later.

Anthony retired in 2008 from the U.S. Postal Service, where he was a motor vehicle operator in Nassau County. I retired in 2009 as a special-education teacher's aide in Queens with the New York City school system. We lived in Queens Village for 30 years before moving to Carle Place in 1998.

This year our children hosted a wonderful 50th wedding anniversary party for us at Koenig's restaurant in Floral Park.

Our marriage has been a thrilling one, and with our four children, three daughters-in-law, one son-in-law and seven grandchildren, we look forward to 50 more.

I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people in the world, and realize that Anthony and I were destined to be together.