Lovely 50th

LOVELY 50th

For 50 years, Harlin and Donna Lovely kept the sweaters they were wearing the day they married, and they donned them again for the family gathering as they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

Harlin Lovely met Donna Whisenhunt at a summer picnic at Blue Lake in Sweet Home, Ore. They married in Reno, Nev., on Dec. 8, 1966.

Donna was born and grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, the third child of nine. Harlin was born and grew up in LaGrande, Ore.; his mother passed away when he was only 9 days old. His father remarried, and Harlin became part of a family of two half-brothers, a half-sister and a stepsister.

Harlin worked as a millwright, logger and, later, an instructor of industrial arts at Nestucca High School on the Oregon coast. Donna worked as a route supervisor at the Democrat-Herald and as a caregiver at a convalescent hospital. However for most of their married life Donna was able to stay at home.

Since retiring, they have enjoyed traveling, have gone on several cruises and have visited all 50 states. They have also built their own home and remodeled several rental properties.

Dec. 10, 2016, family and friends, some from as far away as Texas, gathered at the Tillamook (Ore.) Church to share in the joy of 50 years of marriage. A beautiful wedding cake was shared, and a plaque on which the names of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were engraved was presented to mark the occasion. Wonderful music added to the festive occasion as guests enjoyed a tasty meal.

Their family consists of Gary and Cora Hayes, Cam and Bill Hawkins, Tony and Tamara Lovely, and Terry Lovely, as well as 14 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. One son, Daniel Ray Hayes, is deceased.