Today70 happy years: Anniversary party takes couple by surprise
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Article RatingIt was supposed to be their daughter Alice's birthday party.
When Grace and Paul Runshaw saw all the cars parked in the Mongul United Brethren Church on Saturday afternoon, they weren't sure what to expect inside.
“She said, ‘We'll never find a seat,'” said daughter Linda Caudill of her mother. And Caudill promised them a special spot.
But the Runshaws didn't know that special seat would be at a head table at their surprise 70th wedding anniversary bash. About 140 people came to wish the couple well at the Lurgan Township church they attend.
Unfortunately, Friday's snow kept some away - including two couples who were stranded in Atlanta because their flight to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., was canceled.
Son and daughter-in-law Jerry and Ernie Runshaw, granddaughter Dr. Vivian Sales and her husband Edgar Sales left Oceanside, Calif., Friday morning for the first leg of the journey, but then had to spend the night with a friend who lived in Atlanta after the rest of the flight was snowed out.
“They've been trying desperately to get here,” said Helen Runshaw, daughter-in-law of the elder Runshaws.
Paul and Grace Runshaw, 87 and 85, respectively, have lived in the tiny village of Mongul for nearly 60 years, although it's their seventh home together, said one son. Paul Runshaw was 18 and Grace Rhoads was just 16 when they married March 22, 1937, in Hagerstown, Md.
“When this older generation passes on, 70-year anniversaries are probably going to be few and far between,” said the youngest son, the Rev. John W. Runshaw. “They grew up and I don't think divorce was an option.”
Paul Runshaw grew up in Mongul and Grace in Newburg, says son Robert Runshaw.
The couple had 10 children, and eight of them are still living - seven locally. Leroy Runshaw and his wife, Doris, live in Roxbury; Alice Stouffer and husband Dick live in Southampton Township, Cumberland County; Robert Runshaw and wife Helen also live in Southampton; Linda Caudill and husband Robert live in Orrstown, as do Barry Runshaw and wife Jean; Kenneth Runshaw and wife Brenda live in Chambersburg; and John Runshaw and his wife, Cheryl, live in Southampton Township, Franklin County.
“They're pretty much traditional family, and they taught us pretty much the same,” said John Runshaw. “In their own way, they show their love and care for the children. They did their best to provide for such a large family.”
Paul Runshaw was self-employed for most of his life, and owned Runshaw Paint and Glass on West King Street in Shippensburg in the 1950s. Later, he worked at the physical plant at Shippensburg University, retiring in 1984.
He also took a turn at farming and has raised some beef cattle. Leroy Runshaw, the oldest son, remembers the family raising rabbits to sell to Burkhart's Restaurant in Shippensburg.
Paul Runshaw continues to do small repair projects and woodworking.
Grace Runshaw raised the family and then worked at H.J. Heinz Co. in Chambersburg. When the Heinz company left Chambersburg, she went to work for the J. Schoenman Co. in Chambersburg, where she retired in 1983.
Robert Runshaw remembered his dad being the traditional family disciplinarian when he got caught smoking cigarettes at school and also when he took a cousin's dare at 15 to walk into the house smoking a cigar.
“That was a mistake,” Runshaw said. “I caught the devil” from his mother, “but she said, ‘Wait ‘til your daddy gets home.'”
