Bill and Gayle Braswell celebrated their golden anniversary Saturday, April 27, 2013. This vintage photograph captures the magic of their special day 50 years ago.

I pulled up in front of the house only to find the couple I came to interview standing in the yard.  I waited for a minute before getting out of the car, watching them in the afternoon sunlight.

He stood next to her as they walked around the lawn, eyeing the blossoms that filled their yard with colors of Spring.  He touched her shoulder lightly, pointing out one of the new blooms.  I wondered how two people who had been married 50 years could be so comfortable with each other and just as crazy about each other as they were on April 27, 1963, when they said, “I do.”

Within eight months, Bill and Gayle Braswell met, got engaged and were married.

“We would have been married sooner, but we waited on my aunt and uncle to come back from Japan,” Gayle said.

In the last 50 years Bill and Gayle have shared joyous memories and faced the difficulties of heartbreak together, but say they are blessed to have spent the last fifty years together and share their secrets for maintaining such a strong bond.

The secret to a successful marriage: “Every man has to develop selective hearing.  You can’t survive without it,” Bill joked.

“Have the lord in your life,” Gayle said. “That’s so important.”

What they cherish most about their relationship: “Trust,” Bill said.  “When I worked at a steel plant, I couldn’t wait to go home at the end of the day to my wife and kids.  She knew I was going to be there for her, and I knew she was going to be there for me.”

“You have to have trust and love,” Gayle said.

Growing closer: In July 2008, Bill and Gayle lost their son, Billy, to heart disease.  “It drew us closer because we both suffered the loss so deeply,” Gayle said.  “Sometimes things like that split couples, but it made us stronger.”

“It was an unbearable loss, but it is survivable.  We survived it together with each other and help from everyone at church,” Bill said.

Biggest surprises: “I am always surprised by Bill’s resilience in dealing with his health problems,” Gayle said.  “Health problems run in his family.  He just keeps going.”

“Since I was diagnosed with diabetes, she has learned how to cook all over again,” Bill said.  “For me, it is her faith that always surprises me.  She is the reason I am a Christian.  We spent a lot of dates sitting at a hamburger and hot dog stand, just talking about the Bible for hours.”

The best part of 50 years:  “The grandkids are pretty grand,” Gayle said.

“We spoil them big time,” Bill said.

Celebrating anniversaries: “We are huge Auburn fans.  For 20 to 25 years, we spent anniversaries in Auburn on A-Game Day,” Bill said.

“For our 30th anniversary, we took a Caribbean cruise, but I got motion sickness.  I have not been on a cruise since then.  Bill wants to go on an Alaskan cruise, but I keep telling him he is going to have to find another girlfriend so he can go,” Gayle joked.

April 27, 2011: “We spent that anniversary at home.  We sat in the closet and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by candlelight.”

The golden anniversary: On Saturday Bill and Gayle Braswell commemorated their golden anniversary by hosting a tea for friends and family.  “We are just so blessed to have such great family and people who have helped us through so much,” Gayle said.