Photo by Wanda Hanson
Photo submitted
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“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 was the Bunkes’ wedding verse when they got married 75 years ago. They have lived by that verse all these years. Rob declared, “I tell the Lord everyday how thankful I am for Bettie!”
Rob and Bettie first met when Rob, a farm boy from Hart, came to town for a basketball game. Bettie, a town girl who lived in Rushford, was a cheerleader and on the tumbling team that performed at halftime. When Rob noticed her he asked a friend who she was. The friend introduced the couple to each other and the rest is history. It was a storybook romance –the quarterback and cheerleader made the perfect couple.
Rob’s father and brother had been killed when Rob was 15; he and his brother Earl were left to run the home farm. When Rob found out he was 1A for the draft he enlisted in the Marines and stayed in the Reserve after his three years of active duty.
Rob’s brother knew how smitten he was with Bettie and even bet Rob $10 that he’d be married before he turned 22. According to Rob, $10 was a lot of money back then ($131.96 in today’s dollars) so he and Bettie changed their mind about an April wedding and waited until after Rob’s 22nd birthday to get married so he could collect on the bet!
Their wedding was simple compared to today’s weddings. Rob spent $32 on the wedding ring which unfortunately got stolen later at a convention. Bettie’s mother bought the $125 wedding dress. Bettie had sisters Marilyn and Grace as bridesmaids; Rob had a Marine buddy and Bettie’s brother as groomsmen. The wedding reception was held at Bettie’s parents’ home.
In order to go on a honeymoon, they borrowed a car from Rob’s mom. They traveled to St.Charles the first night and then went on to Winona, up through Wisconsin and the North Shore and wound up in Canada and Thunder Bay.
When the Korean War began, Rob was immediately called up. He and Bettie lived in California. When Rob had to leave for active duty, his son Jeff was severely ill with dysentery. Rob remembered he didn’t know for weeks if his son had lived or died.
While Rob was in Korea, he received a letter from George Warner, manager of Tri-County Electric asking him to come back to Rushford to start a telephone business. Initially, Rob planned to go to aviation school, but was convinced to return to Rushford and become the first (and only) employee of Ace Telephone at the time.
When asked what made their partner perfect for them, Rob pointed out that Bettie was always able to meet people while he was more reserved. Since the couple traveled a lot through Rob’s work in the telephone business, Bettie had the chance to meet people. While the husbands conducted meetings, the wives took tours and socialized. Bettie in particular remembered sitting and chatting with Elizabeth Taylor on a Concorde flight.
Bettie said that Rob was perfect for her because he always was “so nice,” adding with a sparkle in her eye “and a quarterback!” Rob added, “I wanted to be sure I was doing enough – so many people are so selfish; I wanted to do things for Bettie.”
Rob was quick to answer when asked what had surprised him about Bettie. He chuckled that she’d had their house painted pink once when he was gone. He flew over the house on his way home and didn’t recognize it! She also decided to install air conditioning in their Rushford home another time he was gone on a business trip.
Bettie’s surprise was how far Rob worked his way up in the telephone business. Rob was eventually inducted into the Telephone Hall of Fame and later served on the committee to elect others, including Alexander Graham Bell.
Rob and Bettie never thought of themselves as poor, even though Rob readily admitted that the first time he had a $5 bill was when he was in the service. Growing up in a large family of eight boys and five girls, Rob knew wealth didn’t come from material things.
Referring to their wedding verse, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” Rob said, “I’d like to hope and think we always did. We never let a little squabble get between us!”
One little squabble they remembered with a chuckle was when Bettie brought margarine into the house. Rob, a diehard farmer would have none of that and insisted on butter!
Rob became a lay teacher when they joined the Rushford Lutheran Church. They went to church every Sunday with their children – Jeff, Jim, Jay and Jacquie.
Through their years of marriage they have been blessed with eight grandkids, 11 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grands. When granddaughter Sarah and her fiancé Paul asked Rob to marry them, Rob got ordained. In total, he has officiated for five of his grandchildren’s marriages.
The entire family got together for a yearly vacation for 34 years. A highlight of that vacation was a “camp meeting” during which Rob shared with his family his prayer for them as they faced the world and its issues.
On their 50th anniversary, Rob, Bettie, and their whole family traveled to the Lost Pine Resort at Gatlinburg, Tenn. They enjoyed the trip so much that they returned again for their 55th!
When COVID hit, Rob decided to use the time to work on expository outlines of all the books of the New Testament. He has managed to complete 22 so far. Now, every Saturday or Sunday, his children come to visit and learn from them.
When asked their advice to newlyweds, Rob answered, “Number one – the Lord Jesus is a third party to the marriage. Don’t get hung up on little disagreements. They noted they were appalled by the current statistics that 51% of today’s marriages end in divorce.
Rob continued, ”Don’t get mixed up with puppy love – after that wears off it’s got to be pure love!”
Rob and Bettie have accomplished something only 0.0016% of couples do – they have been blessed to reach and celebrate their 75th anniversary! Congratulations to the Bunkes!
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