In December, Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME), an international Catholic marriage enrichment organization, honored the marriage of Jerome and Mary Gorski during its regional Christmas party at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church in Sun Prairie, part of Epiphany of the Lord Parish.
The Gorskis, who were joined in the Sacrament of Matrimony in July of 1951, won the organization’s 2024 Longest Married Couple competition for the state of Wisconsin.
Celebrating 73 years together, the Gorskis — Jerome age 95 and Mary age 93 — have four children, eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
A ‘marvelous’ function
At the ceremony in Sun Prairie, the Gorskis were presented with a plaque by regional WWME leaders to formally name them Wisconsin’s longest married couple for 2024.
Surrounded by family, the two were honored for their life-long testament to marriage and each other.
In addition to family, WWME couples joined in to celebrate the Gorskis and learn from them.
Jerome, who typically goes by “Jerry,” said, “The whole function was marvelous.”
He remembered visiting each table, “talking to the people, thanking them for what they did,” and asking, “Why?”.
“They said they like to learn from the longevity of people’s marriages and what their attitudes are and so forth,” he explained, adding that “The people were very dedicated. They stayed up to the last minute.”
Mary remembered that the WWME couples who came brought food and drinks for a potluck.
“I thought that was very generous,” she said and joked, “I didn’t think we were worthy of all that.”
But all this, they said, came as a surprise.
Jerry and Mary reside with their granddaughter, Jessica King, and her family, and it was King who secretly nominated them for the award.
On the evening of the party, there was a “trick on their part” to get them into going, said Jerry.
“First of all, they said, ‘We’re going to church, a different church out there [in Sun Prairie],’” he explained, and continued, saying, “So, we drove off for a Christmas party.”
But not knowing the party was for them, Mary was surprised when “All of a sudden, I see my daughter, [Donna,] who lives in Milwaukee.
“Then I saw Donna’s daughter next to her,” which confirmed her suspicions.
Looking around, they saw “the tables set up with all of our things,” Mary described.
At that point, they knew.
“They wrote such beautiful things in our cards,” Mary said, feeling honored.
Reflecting on their marriage, Jerry said, “I don’t know where the years went; I can’t tell you.”
“They passed by so fast from the first wedding anniversary till now, it just seems impossible,” he continued.
After pausing, Jerry quipped, “But I don’t argue with Jesus, that’s the one thing.”
Meeting each other
“I was 14 and he was 16,” said Mary.
Jerry and Mary met when they were in high school; the year was 1945 and they were growing up in Milwaukee.
Mary remembered meeting Jerry “on a playground at a public school”.
Remembering those times with her friends, Mary said, “There wasn’t much going on in ’45 outside of the war.
“We didn’t have a lot of things to do, places to go, so we walked.
“We walked Mitchell St. in Milwaukee, and then, we ended up on the playground watching the guys play basketball.
“That’s where I met him,” Mary remembered.
Jerry said, “I was playing basketball — we were involved in sports in school — and I saw this girl sitting on the bench with a white jacket on. It was cool, the fall time.
“After playing, I walked over and I said, ‘Why are you sitting here?’
“She said, ‘Oh, I’m waiting for my girlfriend to come to see me, meet me here,’ and I said, ‘Well, can I walk you home?’”
Jerry explained that “I’d hate to see her walk after the lights went out in the playground.
“It was nine o’clock at night, so I walked her home to her steps, and behold, she was living next door to my brother’s in-laws.”
That night, “I left her at the steps, and after that, we picked up our relationship,” Jerry said.
They lived only “a couple blocks apart,” Mary remembered.
She said that “Everything fell foot in those days.
“We had a bus line right in front of our house, but we never used that.
“We walked everywhere we went.”
Jerry remembered that he would “walk her to school and then go on to my school, which was further out.”
Time passed and in 1951, six years later, Jerry and Mary were married.
A month later, Jerry was drafted into the military.
“They dragged me in,” he said, “So, I got a commission.
“I went on to OCS [Officer Candidate School], and she followed me all over the country.”
“It was an experience. I would have never seen the States if it weren’t for the army,” Mary said.
“Military life was exciting,” Jerry remembered, and continued, saying, “I was about to ship out when the Korean War ended.”
“I was in the state of Washington shipping out, and the war ended, so they kept me there for three months.
“They finally said, ‘If you want to go home, go home,’ and we said, “Yes.”
Then, “We finally settled back in Milwaukee,” said Jerry.
Jerry concluded his service in the military with the rank of first lieutenant.
After returning to Wisconsin, Jerry and Mary raised four children.
Later, those four raised eight grandchildren.
Now, Jerry and Mary celebrate 12 great-grandchildren, their oldest of which is 21.
Some advice
For married couples, the newly engaged, and dating, the Gorskis gave advice.
Jerry said his advice is to “Keep the faith, first of all.
“You gotta have faith.
“You gotta have faith in your companion, in God, [and] so forth.
“Without that, you have nothing,” he said.
Mary explained that “When I was a kid, there was no such thing as divorce, and I have always remembered that through my life.
“That’s why I think people like us are still married; there was no reason to get a divorce.
“What would you do without each other?” Mary asked.
Mary’s advice is to “think about it”.
“God gave me a long time to think about it.
“Before we got married, we were together for six years.
“We were so happy to be married when we got married. It was something we worked for, I guess you could say,” Mary continued.
“We’ve seen a lot of people, a lot of events, and a lot of the world. Now it’s time to relax,” Jerry said.
Jerry and Mary live with their granddaughter, Jessica, and her husband and children in Middleton.
Together, they are parishioners of St. Bernard Church in Middleton, part of Holy Cross Parish.