Couple's love is time-tested

Mt. Angel pair did not let a half-century apart end their close connection

By Cara Pallone • Statesman Journal • February 13, 2010





Don and Noma Olsen will celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary in March, but they fell in love the first time nearly 85 years ago.



They tell their story like a secret, smiling at each other often as they weave fragile memories.

The Olsens live in Mt. Angel and both turn 96 in April. Every day together is a gift.

The two don't spend much time thinking about what might have been had they married so many years ago.

They both raised children and led happy lives.

When the Olsens reunited and finally married in 1991 at age 78, they did so with hesitation.

"We had already passed life expectancy and we didn't think we'd have many years together, two, maybe three," Don said. "It seemed kind of ridiculous to get married. But we knew we loved each other and thought we'd take what time God gave us and enjoy it. And we have for 18 years."

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Noma heard there was a Marquam Grade School reunion every August, although the school no longer exists. One summer in the late 1980s, she decided to attend.

It had been more than 50 years since she saw Don, her grade school sweetheart, whom she also dated in high school.

Even so, she had no trouble spotting him among the Marquam alumni.

"He looked just the same to me," she said.

Don tried to find some resemblance of the farm girl from his youth.

"The thing that always stuck in my mind was her beautiful blue eyes," he said. "But those eyes had changed."

He learned that Noma taught school in Vernonia for 34 years. She and her husband moved to McMinnville to be closer to a hospital and after 56 years of marriage, her husband died.

Noma learned that Don had stayed in Marquam to run his family's farm and he owned the Marquam Store. He was married for 45 years before his wife died of cancer.

As the two talked, they realized the attraction was still there.

After the reunion, Don made sure he stayed on Noma's mind, sending her cards for every holiday.

"And those cards made a difference," Don said.

They met again the following August, but this time, it was Noma who took the lead.





She walked up to Don holding a paper heart in her hand. It was a Valentine he had given her in the fifth grade.



"Have you seen this before?" she asked him.

Don laughed when he recalled that moment.

"My heart gave a thump," he said. "I knew she was thinking pretty favorably of me or she wouldn't have kept it all those years."

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In 1925, a sixth-grade boy was falling for the new girl at Marquam Grade School.

She was one class behind him and she had the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen.

She had just moved to Marquam, a small farming community between Silverton and Molalla.

As Valentine's Day approached, the boy saw an opportunity to show the girl his feelings.

He cut out a paper heart, colored it red and wrote, "To Miss Noma Hill."

He misspelled his own name underneath, "From Donlad Olsen."

And then, he scribed a little verse, "My heart is beating strong for you, no other Valentine will do."

He waited for the big day, dropped it in a box with all of the other valentines and hoped for the best.

cpallone@salem.gannett.com





She walked up to Don holding a paper heart in her hand. It was a Valentine he had given her in the fifth grade.



"Have you seen this before?" she asked him.

Don laughed when he recalled that moment.

"My heart gave a thump," he said. "I knew she was thinking pretty favorably of me or she wouldn't have kept it all those years."

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!! Cheers to them for many more years!