Common Hobbies Keep Couple Close For 75 Years

Sun., Dec. 31, 1995

By Nina Culver nculver47@gmail.com

Sherm Simpson had already been called up for service during World War I and had even been given his physical. But when a severe flu outbreak occurred where he was living in Montana, the army quit calling up people from the area.

Since he didn’t have the flu and suddenly had a lot of spare time, he took the opportunity to visit his aunt and uncle in Albion, Wash. There, he met the woman he would marry, the woman he celebrated his 75th anniversary with on Nov. 14.

Sherm said the one thing he immediately liked about Ruth was her smile. “She looked good to me when I first saw her,” he said. “She couldn’t get rid of me.”

Ruth protested that she really didn’t try very hard to get rid of him. “I guess I fell in love with him,” she said.

The armistice was signed before Sherm was called up and he never had to serve. He farmed for four years, then switched to cutting hair.

Ruth and Sherm were married in Moscow, Idaho, when she was 18 and he was 23. They took their honeymoon in Spokane.

The Simpsons moved to Spokane in 1936 and have lived in the area ever since. Soon after they moved here, they joined the Spokane Rose Society and began growing flowers to show in competitions. Ruth says this was one of their common hobbies that helped them stay close - along with their interest in fishing.

Ruth credits their long marriage to the fact that they “agreed to agree” and that they have relied on love to get them through the few arguments they had.

Sherm simply said, “Anybody as nice as she is, is easy to stay married to.”

The Simpsons had one daughter, Milly, born in 1924, who died from cancer 13 years ago. She is survived by her husband of 41 years and two daughters.

Ruth and Sherm celebrated their anniversary with a few close family members in their apartment at Maplewood Gardens, a retirement community.

Ruth has spent much of the time since her anniversary in the hospital. A few days after the celebration, she fell while reaching for her walker. She wasn’t released from the hospital until the first week of December.

Sherm, though, boasts that he doesn’t have any aches or stiffness. “I don’t stand up as straight as I used to,” he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

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