Richard Thomas Memories

I guess I should have posted this a couple days ago...

50 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

On September 12th 1953 I married Wathada Burford in Hartford, Michigan and set up housekeeping in a one bedroom apartment in Bangor, Michigan. Fourteen months later we started our family. First was Dianne; two years later was Rick, and eight years later was John. 

I started to work in the die casting industry also in 1953 at Du-Wel Metal Products in Bangor and worked for them for twenty one years. During that time we lived in several places in Hartford, Watervliet and Bangor. In 1976 we moved to North Carolina, and I worked for Southern Die Cast. Wathada worked for Alderman Studios. 

We only stayed in North Carolina for two years and then moved back to Michigan for six months; then we moved to southern California where I worked for Die Cast Products until my retirement in 1996. While in California Wathada worked for the State of California at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, California, until her retirement in 1997.

On September 12th 2003 we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in Watervliet, Michigan, where we retired to. All our children were home for a week to help us celebrate. We were presented with a picture in a gold frame that said “50 years of marriage & all we have to show for it is” (over a picture of the three children) Dianne, Rick & John.

-- Richard Melvin Thomas

Photos: Red & Wathada, Rick, Dianne, John.

Watervliet, Michigan, September 2003 (taken by Alan Kessler)