Good times, bad times, and blizzards

Intermountain Catholic

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MaryLou and Blaine Buck will be married for 42 years in December. They got married at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. ?A marriage is forever. Good times and bad,? they said. IC photos courtesy of R. Blaine and MaryLou Buck

ROY — As the old saying goes, "The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach." So MaryLou had a huge advantage in this aspect since she only knew how to make 22 loafs of bread at a time.

R. Blaine Buck and MaryLou lived in the same apartment complex. They met when Blaine and a friend were looking at the apartments they were to rent; MaryLou and her friend were having a water fight. They had a damp introduction. MaryLou sprayed her new neighbors instead of her friend.

But the Bucks did not experience love at first sight. They knew each other for a year before they started dating. "She dated two or three of my roommates before me," said Blaine.

After they went out for a year, Blaine and MaryLou, and another couple went to Park City, where Blaine was born and raised. The four of them were sitting at the table when Blaine brought out a ring and asked MaryLou to marry him. "My heart just went ‘tum, tum’," she said.

They planned to get married in April, but his family could only attend to the wedding if it was during the Christmas break. They changed the wedding to December, making it all the more stressful for MaryLou.

"We changed the date in October. So, in two months I had to make six dresses, while I also worked full-time," she said.

MaryLou made her own dress, her mother’s, her mother-in-law’s, and her sisters’, who were her bridesmaids. Being a convert, she had to take Catechism classes. She was baptized on Christmas Eve; she had her First Communion on Christmas day, and was ready to get married on the 29th.

During this time of happiness and distress, she hung a sign on her door that said "As soon as the rush is over, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown. I worked for it; I owe it to myself; and nobody is going to deprive me of it!"

The wedding took place at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, and the reception was at their new home. "A lot of people went to see who got who. They thought I was going to be an old maid," said MaryLou.

The Bucks say they do not understand the high rates of divorce nowadays. "Businesses don’t have loyalty. People don’t seem to have commitment on anything," said MaryLou. "A marriage is forever. Good times and bad," said the Bucks, who have faced challenges of many degrees since early in their marriage.

"The people at the place where we got engaged told us we could spend our honeymoon night there for free; so we drove to Park City through the worst blizzard of the year. We got there and they had no rooms available. We had to drive back through the blizzard again and had to stay at a place two blocks away from home," she said.

MaryLou also jokingly told the Intermountain Catholic she was very discouraged when she struggled to get her husband out of bed. "He could sleep for 30 hours! He had to go to work," she said.

But their biggest challenge has been the addiction problems of the older of their two daughters. "We had to learn not to bail her out," said Blaine. "She’ll be all right. She has three wonderful daughters," said MaryLou, while looking at the family pictures.

"No matter what you think, you’re never forgotten. I guess God is just making us stronger," she said.

And with this attitude, both serve the Church in different ways. Blaine is a lector at St. Mary’s Parish in Ogden and MaryLou participates in the Baby Shower for Jesus charity program and makes blankets for needy children. The blankets are distributed in January by the Council of Catholic Women.

The Bucks have endured almost 42 years of marriage and still look forward to spending time together. One of their favorite things to do is golf.

"In spring 2006, we had a 26 day road trip to Georgia. We golfed 19 out of the 26 days," said Blaine. "We’re both bad," said MaryLou. "But it keeps us active."