Ernest and Mary Rosychuk Celebrate 60 Years of Marriage

Ernest and Mary Rosychuk Celebrate 60 Years of Marriage

Rosanne Fortier News Correspondent

Ernest and Mary Rosychuk were married on April 30, 1960. Their romance all started when Ernest was living in Edmonton when he noticed a lady by his window. So, he went out to talk to her and they discovered she was a farm girl, just like he was a farm boy, and they shared the same religion. “Besides Mary was good looking too,” Ernest admitted.

After they got married, it took them eight years to have children because his wife discovered she needed a minor operation to have children. “But the wait was worth it as we had three really good kids: Monica, Kim, and Shaun. They were all smart in life and honour students at school,” said Ernest.

When talking about the early years of marriage were like, he said he was a boiler-maker and welder, so quite often he was not home. “I worked for refineries all over Alberta working so sometimes I wouldn’t show up at home for a month at a time, and my wife worked as a secretary for Alberta Government Telephones for 10 years.”

Later in 1968, Ernest and Mary moved to a farm 12 miles north of Two Hills. They weathered many storms together, and pulled through all of them. Ernest continued to work around the clock. Mary found out she had diabetes when she was 30.

“I felt we stayed together for a long time because we were good together in the way we had things in common. Then I liked Mary’s dad as he was a nice guy. Also, I had compassion for Mary since she was sick, and people get married for better or for worse, so I wanted to honour my commitment.”

The advice Ernest would give people starting out in marriage is that you have to give and take; you can’t just take. “Marriage is a two-way street; it is not just about you. Then you have to be dedicated and committed.

We had our first child after eight years. You don’t count once the kids come. You have to put the children first. You can forget about being you and your wife, it is about the kids then. I always gave the best of everything to my kids.”

Today, Ernest and Mary have two grandchildren, Shayna and Sarah, who are both in their early 20’s.

Ernest is 83-years-old now. He still resides and farms near Two Hills. Ernest has lived apart from his wife for the past six years due to her advanced diabetic situation. Mary resides in the nursing home in Two Hills. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions placed on visitors in long term care facilities, Ernest was not able to visit Mary inside the facility on their 60th wedding anniversary. He did, however, sit outside her window and share his thoughts and time with her, so together they could commemorate their special milestone.