Oh, The Answers You Get When You Ask Couples in Their 90s About Valentine's Day

Ask a couple who has been married for 65 or 70 years about Valentine's Day, and you never know what the answer will be.

The Village at  residents Chuck and Dolly Mohler, married for 65 years, said they usually spend Valentine's Day quietly. 

Asked how he and his wife, Natalie, spent Valentine's Day in years past, 94-year-old Bob Hoadley answered: "With sex!"

"That was many years past," Natalie chimed in as the couple kept a tableful of fellow St. Barnabas residents chuckling Tuesday at a Valentine's Day French Tea Party at the facility in Richland Township.

Bob and Natalie have been married 70 years.

About 170 St. Barnabas residents gathered in The Village Restaurant for the festive French-themed tea party that featured Quiche Lorraine, Coq Au Vin, Baked Cod Newburgh, mini French pastries and croissants, fruit, teas, sparkling wine and non-alcoholic sparkling cider.

Waiters and waitresses dressed in black who sported bright red berets served them. 

Marketing Communications Manager Shelli Sommariva said St. Barnabas had an "overwhelming response" when it invited the residents to the French Tea Party. 

"Everyone likes to get together and socialize," she said.

As a blaze flickered in the restaurant fireplace, violinist Steven Vance strolled from table to table, playing love songs and taking requests. 

Whitney Ann Jenkins, portraying a French can-can girl, and Channel 11 News meteorologist Kevin Benson visited tables, chatting with residents.

"It's beautiful. The tables are gorgeous," said 90-year-old Dolly Mohler, whose husband, Chuck, is 92. "Everything they do seems to be very nice."

Asked what the secret to staying married for 65 years is, she replied: "Always putting the other person first. We both always do that. It's just the way we are."

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