A love that never ends…

[Last month, on July 3, Marjorie E. Monaghan, wife of Tom Monaghan, passed away after a short bout with leukemia. Last October, Tom penned a column on the occasion of their 60th anniversary. We reprint Tom’s article below as a loving tribute to Margie.] 

It was 1961. I had just opened a store in Mount Pleasant near Central Michigan University. I was working seven days a week, and on this particular night I decided to make a delivery myself.

The pizza was to a girls’ dorm, and in those days you went to the lobby, and the operator would call the customer to come pick up the pizza. I was immediately taken by the operator and tried, without much success, to strike up a conversation.

I was on a cloud as I drove to the store and could not stop thinking about her. When I returned to the store, I called the operator to ask her out. I explained to the girl who answered that I was the person who just delivered a pizza and asked her if she would go to a movie. She was indignant and asked who I was. It did not take long to figure out what had happened: she had just come on duty, so I was talking to the wrong girl.

I asked her to ring the room of the girl who just got off duty. 
I then again explained that I was the one who had just delivered a pizza, and would she go to a movie with me. In a similar fashion, she too asked who I was. After I explained, she suddenly realized what had happened: she had not worked that evening, and another girl, Margie Zybach, had substituted for her. 

I called the switchboard and asked to be connected to Margie’s room. Again, I explained that I had just delivered a pizza, and would she go to a movie with me. She said she would.

The following Monday, I picked her up, and we went to a movie. Shortly after, on Valentine’s Day, I sent her a heart-shaped pizza. On our second date, I again took her to a show, and afterward we went to a restaurant. It was then that I knew I wanted to marry her. Not only was I taken by her beauty, but she was wholesome and unpretentious, the kind of girl I wanted to spend my life with!

I was determined to ask her to marry me, so I went to a local jeweler whom I knew. I asked him if I could buy a ring with no money down, and he agreed. I took the ring with me on our third date.

When we got back to her dorm, I didn’t know how to get the words out, so I just handed her the ring. After some back and forth, she said would think about it. She said she wouldn’t tell anyone but would wear it at night. After seeing her every day for a week, she finally agreed to marry me.

In August, Margie and I celebrated our 60th anniversary! Through countless ups and downs, and all that has been thrown at us, Margie has been my anchor, and for her I am eternally grateful. So are our four daughters, 10 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.