Life, Love and Resilience Shirley and Dwain Ehrlich

Life, Love and Resilience

Two couples share their stories

Relationships based on love and trust that offer encouragement and support help bolster resilience.

Sun Health Foundation asked two couples, one who recently celebrated 71 years of marriage and the other who are newlyweds…

What keeps you resilient?

Shirley and Dwain Ehrlich, celebrating 71 years of love

How does a couple celebrating 71 years of marriage stay resilient in both love and in life?

For Shirley and Dwain Ehrlich, residents at Sun Health’s The Colonnade Community, adding in humor and adventure — and a dash of friendly mischief — are ingredients for the perfect recipe.

“Finding opportunities to laugh has helped us through the ups and downs of life,” says Shirley, a retired surgery nurse manager.

The couple met in Lincoln, Nebraska, in a most unconventional way. When she was 16, Shirley removed the valve caps of Dwain’s car parked in front of a house where he sat on a porch swing with her friend on a date. Shirley’s mischievous act was her attempt to interrupt them (not to do harm) in hopes her friend would instead consider going with her to a slumber party.

It wasn’t until two years later that Dwain asked Shirley for a date — three times before she finally accepted his invitation to go dancing. She soon discovered Dwain’s mischievous side, too. Their romance blossomed. After they married, Shirley completed nursing school and Dwain served in the Korean War as a second lieutenant teaching draftees squadron infantry tactics. He went to college for a history degree, later followed by graduate school for a master’s degree and ultimately a doctorate in education. He then became dean of a local college. They moved to Wisconsin where both of their careers flourished.

Throughout their lives, the Ehrlichs have experienced both joy and sadness, including joy from the birth of their five children and heartbreak from the loss of two.

“In our grief, we’ve had to learn to roll with the punches,” Shirley says.

To help them find their way, the Ehrlichs kept their focus on memorymaking good times with family and friends that included much laughter.

The couple chose to retire in Arizona because of the warmer, drier climate. They not only love living in the West Valley, they enjoy life at The Colonnade that supports their active and resilient lives.

“Finding opportunities to laugh has helped us through the ups and downs of life.”

—SHIRLEY EHRLICH