Love stories: Memories buoy pair

It was the boy’s brand new MG that first caught her eye. That was in November 1960.

Now, as Bill and Carolyn Giltner prepare to celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary in April, it’s a lifetime of good times and good memories that helps keep their love strong.

Carolyn says it was her brother who introduced them.

“Almost immediately, Bill told my brother that he would marry me,” she recalls.

Bill isn’t sure that it went down that way, but he doesn’t argue the point. He says he still doesn’t know why he fell in love with Carolyn, but what comes to mind is “her prettiness, inside and out.”

“What’s kept us together have just been the good times we’ve had,” Carolyn says.

Bill doesn’t talk much anymore; it wears him out, but he says “talking” is what’s kept the couple together all this time. “Talking,” he says, “communicating.”

Have e there been any difficult hurdles?

“The amputation of my legs.”

Bill, 68, was diagnosed with diabetes 56 years ago. His first amputation was in 1996, his second a year ago.

“He handles it amazingly,” says Carolyn, “He’s hardly ever grumpy.”

Carolyn, 65, thinks their most difficult hurdles have been raising teenagers, but it turned out all right.

“I remember one argument. I walked out,” she recalls. “I was going to stay out all night, but instead I went home.

“It’s much easier to make up when you don’t separate. After that, during an argument, I would just ‘take the afternoon off.’ It’s important to realize that there will be disagreements.

“Just be patient and work them out.”

The Giltners moved to the area two years ago from Arizona to be closer to their grandchildren. Bill resides at the Good Samaritan on East Sixth Avenue, and Carolyn lives close by on Barker Road. She visits him every day.

Their memories have blurred and blended into a strong foundation. Now it is second nature for each to understand the other’s signals and glances.

When Bill makes a slight movement or says “ouch,” Carolyn is quick to reach out, almost unconsciously, to move his wheelchair because the movement seems to help. She takes him for walks or does what’s necessary to make him comfortable, and while she speaks, he agrees with a nod or a grin.

Bill was an architectural designer and Carolyn was a teacher. They had separate activities and interests but always had fun together.

From 1995 to 2000 they were in the Civil Air Patrol together in Prescott, Ariz., and Bill is quite fond of the framed photograph that shows them both in uniform.

Carolyn recalls the time that she and Bill were preparing for a fancy evening out. She emerged from the shower and stepped on a straight needle that found its way into the bone of her big toe.

Instead of joining their friends for dinner, their friends, dressed to the hilt, took Bill and Carolyn to the emergency room.

Carolyn had to keep her toes apart, lest she scream in pain. So Bill dressed her while she clung to her leg and her toe. Dressed in a less-than-fetching outfit, Carolyn was carried into the emergency room.

“We all got the giggles. Bill’s walking in carrying this woman dressed real funny, holding her toes apart, followed by a gorgeous couple straight out of the pages of Esquire.

“We just laughed and laughed.”

Carolyn ended up going into surgery and was off her foot for a week, but she remembers it vividly and fondly.

The Giltners agree that a sense of humor and being there for each other is important. Their list of other necessities include: Learn something new about each other every day; worship together; and outserve each other.

“For years I gave him coffee in bed every morning,” says Carolyn, “and the rest of the day, he would wait on me.”

Now, Carolyn waits on Bill, and she enjoys serving him, as it should be.

“It’s important to think of things to do for each other every day,” Carolyn says, and as Bill keeps her laughing and smiling, Carolyn communicates her love with a touch and a glance filled with memories, sometimes forgotten but always lasting.