Belinda Morgan Sheppard, Class of 1969, celebrated her 50^th wedding anniversary on Thursday, August 15 in Port Charlotte, Florida, where she lives with her husband, George Sheppard, a former Marine she refers to as "Dordie."

Belinda and George thought they were going out for pizza but their daughters surprised them with an anniversary dinner with family and friends.

Belinda posted:

“I want to thank my girls for our 50th anniversary dinner. Was such a wonderful surprise. I thought we were going for pizza. We were so surprised. Thank you and thank you all who came. We love our girls to pieces.”

This great and lasting romance began on a playground.

Former Monongah councilman Sanford Carr, George Sheppard’s cousin, “brought George to the playground to meet me,” Belinda recalls. “It was sort of a blind date.” They went to the movies as double dates with Sanford and future wife Linda Knobel-Carr, Class of 1967, and have been doing that ever since.

Much later, Sandford and George “joined the Marines as a buddy plan.”

After setting up Belinda and George, Sanford married Linda.

The same Linda who has been best friends with Belinda since they were 5 years old.

Linda was matron of honor at Belinda’s wedding and Belinda’s brother, Ricky, was the ring-bearer. 1989 North Marion grad Tonia Carr Posten is Sanford and Linda’s daughter.

Belinda and George have two daughters, Christy Sheppard Marecki and University of Central Florida graduate ShellyRay Banville, and eight grandchildren and live in Port Charlotte, 50 miles south of Sarasota off Interstate 75.

Belinda retired in 1996. Her 1969 graduation class included Alabama football coach Nick “Brother” Saban. Coincidentally, Belinda graduated the year that I began my career as an editor at the Akron Beacon Journal and retired the year that I retired from the Ohio newspaper.

Her parents were Bill Morgan, who attended Monongah High for one year before switching to Farmington High, and Jacqueline Joyce Wilson Morgan, 1956 Farmington High grad. The family lived on Walnut Street, where I was born in my Olesky grandparents’ house in 1932.

Belinda worked for Bruce and Amelia Shenask Zentz at their Dairy Kone in Monongah for three summers (1975-1977). “I loved working there,” Belinda writes. “They even gave me a baby shower in 1977.”

Billie Lee Morgan, Jr., Class of 1974, widow of Fairmont West grad Paula Jean Burton Morgan, is Belinda’s brother. So is North Marion grad Rick Morgan, who works for Mountaineer Cabinet Company and lives in Fairmont. And the late Jimmie Lee Morgan.

Belinda tells about an unusual honeymoon:

o    “Part of our wedding party left when we left mom’s house. Followed us through Monongah and Monkey Wrench and to Morgantown.

“I thought they just wanted to blow their horns. But when my husband tried to ditch them they showed up at the hotel right after my husband paid for the room. Of course me being so scared anyway I invited them in. About 15 of them. They talked about someone going to get donuts. I was all for it.

o   “Then my husband went to the office and made everyone leave. I went into the bathroom and stayed there most of night till he went to sleep. Next day I told my husband I had to go home because I forgot my toothbrush. He said I'll buy you a toothbrush. So that was the first gift after being married that he bought me.

o  “And although Linda Knobel-Carr knows rest of story it's not being repeated. He stuck with me for 50 years.”

Wow!