Briarfield Couple Celebrates 70 Years of Marriage

CANFIELD, Ohio — On Jan. 10, it will have been 70 years since Bill and Joan McIntosh married in a quiet ceremony at St. Dominic’s Church in Youngstown. To this day, Joan recalls her first thoughts of her husband-to-be.

“My first thoughts of Bill when I met him was that he was a smart aleck,” Joan says. “My mother really liked him. I had a lot of fun with Bill.”

Bill thought Joan “was good looking,” he says, and he appreciated that she laughed at his jokes.

When asked if she still laughs at his jokes after all these years, Joan replies, “For the most part.”

To celebrate their milestone, family and friends are invited to a 70th wedding anniversary party Jan. 9 at the Inn at Ironwood where the couple lives. Elvis Presley impersonator, Ronnie Navarra will provide entertainment.

The McIntoshes attended and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School – Bill graduated in 1947 and Joan in 1949. Bill’s sister Donna was friends with Joan and introduced them. For their first date, they went ice skating at Lake Newport, they say.

Bill enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, so the two married on Jan. 10, 1950. They celebrated their honeymoon in Denver where Bill was stationed at the former Lowry Air Force Base.

After his service, Bill worked at Republic Steel for 30 years before he retired, and Joan was the general manager of the Youngstown Club for 20 years. They raised their four children – Susan, Thomas, James and Robert – from their home in Applewood Acres in Boardman. They now have seven grandchildren.

As for what it takes to get to 70 years of marriage, Joan’s advice is that marriage takes a lot of love and understanding. For newlywed men, Bill’s answer is simple.

“Give in.”

Pictured: Bill and Joan McIntosh will celebrate 70 years of marriage at a party at the Inn at Ironwood where they reside. (Image: Briarfield)

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.