Wedding Wednesday on Saturday: Gordon Levy and Geraldine Martin

Gordon Levy and Geraldine Martin
September 3, 1950

So I know usually we do Wedding Wednesday but today is a very special day in my family, the wedding/anniversary of my parents.  And sadly, it also was the start of a very bad Labor Day weekend for us in 2005.

My parents, Gordon Floyd Levy and Geraldine Martin, were married in Fresno on September 3, 1950.  They met in 1943 when they were students at Fresno High School - dad was a senior and mom was a sophomore.  After high school, they went off to Stanford and both studied there - Mom with a BA in Economics and Dad finished up with a MBA.  Mom likes to say she didn't "follow" him there but I'd bet she's kidding all of us with that one.

I remember as a child my sister and I would pour over their wedding album and loved to look at all of the pictures - Mom looked so beautiful in her wedding dress (which is still packed away in a hope chest) and Dad was a dapper groom.  We also liked looking at the album where Mom wrote about all of the events.  My favorite part was opening up the tissue paper where a few of the flowers had been pressed and although brown and limp with age, it was a wonderful reminder of what was surely a beautiful day.  I also remember staring at the giant portrait of Mom which still hangs at the end of the hallway in our childhood home.  All little girls dream of their wedding day and it was no exception for us. 

In 2000, Mom and Dad were ready to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and decided that the best way to celebrate would be to have all of the kids/grandkids together in a very special place.  So Labor Day weekend in 2000 found us all together in Napa for a celebration.  Everyone arrived at different times throughout the weekend but we knew we would all be together for one very special dinner.

Our surprise to Mom and Dad that year was hiring a photographer to capture the day with both group photos and individual family photos.  Dad could, at times, turn into an emotional wreck and my recollection is that he was close on this special evening.  And being the eternal Stanford football fan, I also seem to remember him sitting at the dinner table with his ever-present headphones on listening to the game.

Of course no trip to Napa would be complete without some golf and wine tasting!  One of the days found some of us off wine tasting, some at the amusement park nearby, and some playing golf at Silverado Country Club (the perks of a golf pro brother).  I don't think Dad finished his round that day but I know how much he loved being on the course with his family.  And if memory serves me correctly, that may have been the last time he was able to golf.

Sure our family has grown since then and we're still in different cities and states but I don't think any of us will ever forget that very special weekend celebrating our wonderful parents.

Gordon & Gerry Levy
September 3, 2000
50th wedding anniversary