Dover couple celebrates 75 years: 'Staying married is an achievement'
DOVER — Richard (Dick) and Sue Bicknell celebrated their 75th anniversary this month. It's a milestone they aren't taking lightly as they reach three quarters of a century of spending Valentine's Day together.
“You have to live a long time to be married a long time," Richard said. "Birthdays come and go, but staying married is an achievement.”
The couple celebrated their anniversary Feb. 3 with family at Blue Latitudes restaurant in Dover.
The couple were married on Feb. 5, 1949. Their daughter, Nancy Larkin, said her dad turned 98 on Jan. 18, and her mom will be 98 on Oct. 18.
"They subscribe to the Foster’s Daily Democrat and actually renewed for a year last July," Larkin said. "They love your newspaper and read it cover-to-cover every day."
According to family, Richard and Sue met in Rochester, New York, where she attended Rochester Institute of Technology and he went to the University of Rochester. They met through mutual friends who would get together at a local pub.
Richard was in the ROTC program and studying engineering during World War II, and Sue studied merchandising and worked in a radio station. They married in 1949 and honeymooned at Mt. Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. It was Sue's first time skiing. As a honeymoon present, her father bought her a pair of skis.
Richard was vice president of engineering at Davidson Rubber in Dover in the 1970s and moved to become president of Greenlee Tools in Rockford, Illinois.
Dick and Sue raised three kids who grew up camping, skiing, sailing, and moving to six different states. They have eight grandkids, and 12 great grandchildren with two on the way.
The Bicknells have traveled all over the world. They raised three kids who grew up camping, skiing, sailing and moving to six different states. They retired to Eliot, Maine, and lived there for 25 years before moving to Dover.
They have eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren with two more on the way.
The couple answered a few questions posed by Foster's Daily Democrat at their anniversary celebration.
Why did you get married on Feb. 5? It is an unusual time to be married.
Dick wanted to go skiing for his honeymoon. He knew some of his buddies from college were going to be at Mt. Tremblant outside of Montreal so this seemed like a good time and place to go.
Sue's parents thought it was crazy, but they bought her skis for the honeymoon.
Sue had only been skiing once before and said, “Dick went off to the mountain tops and left me on the bunny hill.”
Sue sent a postcard of the mountains to her parents and wrote, “It’s worse than it looks.”
Dick said, “Our honeymoon was pretty unique." Sue said, “Yeah, I never saw you.”
What is their most significant memory?
When Dick went to meet Sue’s parents who lived near Niagara Falls, they took a rickety cable car ride over the lower river rapids that only had cow wire as a safety fence. She thought they were going to plunge into the rapids. That cable car does not exist today.
You two traveled a lot and sailed a lot. What made that work?
Dick said, “Sue was an awfully good sport, she went along with everything I wanted to do.” Sue said, “I thought that’s what I was supposed to do.”
What do you like to do together now?
They both read the Foster’s Daily Democrat and Wall Street Journal from cover to cover and discuss (or grumble) about the news.
They still play bridge.
They are the trivia champs where they live.
Dick is the hallway bocce ball champ.
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH couple Dick and Sue Biicknell celebrate 75 years of marriage
