With life expectancy in the United States averaging 77.6 years, few couples reach their 70th wedding anniversary. Ruben and Nancy Neuharth, however, achieved this distinction on Dec. 28, 2006. They are active members of the San Marcos church.

The couple met in Lodi, Calif., where Ruben was born and Nancy’s family had moved from Colorado. While Ruben was a cadet at the Army and Navy Academy in San Diego, they married secretly during a December vacation in 1936, eloping to Reno, Nev. “It was during the depression, and we didn’t have the $5 for the marriage certificate,” Ruben admitted. The Justice of the Peace performed the wedding, but kept the certificate until they paid up.

During World War II, both were employed at the Alameda Naval Air Station. Eventually, Ruben entered a 25-year career with the Chamber of Commerce, working in Oxnard, Pittsburg, National City, Inglewood, and Escondido.

In 1973, the Neuharths became full-time volunteers with Glenn Coon’s international ABC Prayer Ministry. After Coon suffered a stroke in 1987, they carried on the prayer crusades, conducting more than 250 across the nation.