Family has ‘golden’ tradition

You could call the Jaegers a gilded family – at least when it comes to marriage.

All five children of the late Eldon and Goldie Jaeger, formerly of Kellogg, have reached their golden 50-year anniversaries, compiling a total of 261 years of marriage.

Daughter Arlene Sorenson attributes the longevity to “stick-to-it” attitudes. Her husband, Bill, jokes that his father-in-law warned him that “there were no return privileges on these girls.”

Either way, the Jaeger siblings agree their longevity of marriage is a blessing, especially these days when roughly half of marriages end in divorce. The Jaeger siblings say they haven’t encountered any other family who has accumulated as many years of marital union.

Jim and Jean Bellamy, of Coeur d’Alene, have been married 56 years; the Sorensons, of Hermiston, Ore., have 53 years of marriage; Chuck and Carol Poulson, also of Hermiston, have been married 52 years; Jim and Cara Nadine Jaeger, Osburn, Idaho, have celebrated 50 years; and Mike and Winnie DeJanovich, Spokane, have been married 50 years.

“We’ve all been fortunate to marry people who we love and like and make us laugh,” Winnie DeJanovich said.

Eldon and Goldie Jaeger, who were married 40 years themselves, raised their son and four daughters in Kellogg. Their children describe them as “sweethearts,” who demonstrated a loving marriage and raised their offspring in the Catholic faith.

The siblings were “so lucky to be born in those days when adults did not get divorced over an argument,” Arlene Sorenson said.

The next generation, however, hasn’t been as successful, at least in marriage. More than half of the grandchildren have been divorced.

For the first-generation Jaeger family, marriage was a family affair, with unions beginning early on.

Goldie Jaeger helped set up one of her daughters on a blind date with Chuck Poulson, whose aunt worked with Goldie at the local department store. Carol and Chuck were married in 1955; they now have four children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Chuck, 71, formerly worked as a bread salesman and now operates a laundromat in Hermiston. Carol, 72, worked as a high school secretary.

She appreciates that Chuck is easy-going and advises that marriage is “give and take.” He attributes their marital success to consideration for one another.

It’s also “just being married to the right person,” Carol said.

For Mike and Winnie DeJanovich, their marriage survived a stint in the military, which often can take a toll on relationships, Mike said. A retired physician’s assistant, Mike spent two years away from the family while serving 22 years in the Air Force.

Mike, 70, said he had his eye on Winnie, 69, since the eighth grade; they began dating in high school and were married in 1957. The pair has four children and seven grandchildren.

Bill and Arlene Sorenson also met in high school. They married in 1954 and had three children and seven grandchildren. Bill, 76, managed a grocery store in Kellogg before moving to Hermiston and purchasing a Hallmark store. Arlene, 73, worked at banks and a funeral home.

If things got tough, “one of us would go for a drive,” Arlene said. She’d also trudge up a hill behind their home to let off steam.

The siblings agree that marriage continues to improve with time. In the retirement years, “you don’t have the concerns of raising kids. You don’t have as many responsibilities as when you were younger,” Bill Sorenson said.

“The best times are now,” agreed Mike DeJanovich.

Their marriages haven’t been worry-free, the siblings are quick to point out. But they have a supportive family – and determination to make it work.

“You always have problems,” Arlene Sorenson said. “You just don’t get mad and say, ‘I’m leaving.’ Or you can say it. You just don’t do it.”