Valentine’s Day still special to Pines of Mount Lebanon couple wed 69 years

PITTSBURGH - Feb. 11, 2015 - PRLog -- Mention Valentine’s Day at The Pines of Mount Lebanon, and the names Mae and Thad Dees almost certainly will follow.

    Mae and Thad are ‘sweethearts’ in every sense of the word, and their affection is on display at the senior living community. The couple has been wed 69 years. Like most members of “The Greatest Generation,” the Dees have endured their share of hardship and triumphs through the years.

    “Mae and Thad are a shining example of the kind of married couple that really took their vows to heart,” said Lisa Stromberg, Activities Director at The Pines. “Both were born in Kentucky during the early 1920s, and both were raised on small tobacco farms. As a result, they learned the value of hard work at an early age.”

    The couple began a relationship during a bean-stringing party, a social tradition in which beans are hung out to dry during the winter months. Thad’s sister suggested he make Mae a cornhusk doll, which he presented to her, initiating a courtship.

    “Over the next few years, Thad often rode his family’s mule to visit his sweetheart,” Stromberg said, recalling stories the couple told her. “He rode from Sally’s Branch to Rockcastle County in Kentucky for church services often followed by ‘dates.’”

    Thad served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. When he returned home, Thad and Mae married on his birthday, October 11, 1945.

    “That was probably one of Thad’s greatest birthday presents of all time,” Stromberg said.

    The couple started a family and raised two children, a son and a daughter, while traveling across the country as Thad pursued a career in construction. The family resided in a 35-foot trailer.

    “They even took in his brothers from time to time when work was hard to find,” Stromberg said. “They raised two children. Mae always made a large bowl of rice and banana pudding for the boys each night. She never complained. The couple always pulled together, especially after their son died tragically during a hunting accident.”

    Thad eventually took care of Mae when Alzheimer’s disease limited her. Thad later suffered a stroke. The couple ultimately found their way to The Pines, where they brighten the day for staff and residents at the senior living community.

    “Of course, that old cornhusk doll is in a frame and by Mae’s side here at The Pines,” Stromberg said. “Over the course of 69-plus years of marriage, raising a son and a daughter, having four grand-children and nine great-grandchildren, and traveling the country, Thad and Mae first and foremost have been loyal to each other. They are a model couple who through good times and bad times have remained true to their wedding vows.”