Okay, so maybe I ripped that from Beauty and the Beast...but here’s the thing… it totally applies to this story. The story of my grandparents. Their love story. A story I grew up with, one that I admire, and one that I look to often as a reminder that love endures... if you will it to.
My grandparents, Henry and Edean, married on March 24th, 1951. Edean, only 20, and Henry, (as he would often tell us) had just turned 21 a few days prior to their wedding day. They had a traditional church wedding and cake reception with lots of friends, family and community members to witness their union. You see, I know all of this because my grandmother documented everything about their life together. I have their wedding book in which she wrote each single piece of china and silver that was gifted to them that day. (See the picture below of the receipts from the florist!) Along with that, I have many photos to look at along with descriptions of what was happening in that moment. And it’s not lost on me that this is a true blessing to be able to look back in time and see how young and strong they were that day. The day they committed themselves to a life that would bring so much happiness, and at times deep sorrow, but ultimately a love so strong that it definitely stood the test of time.
Shortly after they married, my grandfather was enlisted in the Army during the Korean War. They spent the first years of their marriage apart, only corresponding through mail. My grandfather sent letters and pictures of himself at basic training, with his comrades and of his travels overseas. He saw so much of the world and loved to share it with his bride back home. He was fortunate to be stationed in Germany because of his typing skills and served as a translator for a base there. She, back in Texas, looked after their home, kept busy at their church, and wrote him letters often as well. Together, they dreamt of the day he would return home and they could start the family they both deeply wanted.
After his homecoming, he enrolled at Texas Tech University where he studied to become a rancher and they got to work on that family. But… after nearly 8 years of trying for a baby, they decided that having children was so important to them, that if they couldn’t do it naturally, they would adopt. Soon after that, they were presented with the wonderful opportunity to adopt 2 children from a single mother that could not care for them… a boy and a girl. They were all set to adopt when my grandmother found out that she was pregnant!! Of course God works in the most mysterious of ways. The news of the pregnancy didn’t stop them from wanting that little boy and little girl, and they planned to go through with the adoption. They were thrilled to be starting a family. At the last minute, with a change of heart, the father of those children came back and reconciled with the mother and decided they wanted to be a family. So, my grandparents did what they would always do, and turned to each other for strength. They were also extremely faithful people and believed that God would always provide what they needed.
Well, they were right to think that. Everything fell into place. My grandfather was promoted to the ranch manager position at the Lyndon B. Johnson ranch in Stonewall, TX. They welcomed my mother, Edie, in August and just a short 13 months later, delivered my uncle Budd. After many wonderful years at the LBJ ranch (and fantastic stories to go with them, like the time JFK visited and held my mother while my grandfather proudly looked on) they picked up and moved to Colorado at the chance to buy a ranch of their own.
Once in Colorado, my grandmother became pregnant again. Only this time, things didn’t go as planned. Their daughter, Callie, died very shortly after birth and my grandmother was so ill that she never even got to see or hold her baby girl. A very dark time in their life, they again turned to each other. When my grandmother thought she could never get past the sorrow of losing a child, she handed it over to God. She put her trust in her faith and worked to move forward. And of course they were blessed again. My uncle Sander was born 9 years after my mother and would remain the youngest in their little family.
The years rolled by. Some good, some bad. The kids grew up, they moved a few times, started welcoming grandchildren, even great grandchildren, started saying goodbye to loved ones passing on, changed careers, retired to Southern Colorado, and ultimately lived out their final days close to family. A lot of life was done side by side. And every year, on March 24th, they would celebrate that day, way back when they joined together in a promise. A promise to endure the test of time, no matter the circumstances. And that’s how they stayed. For 64 beautiful years.
My grandfather passed away on January 27th, 2017, and while she tried to be strong, my grandmother really didn’t like being here while he was there… in the heaven that they both faithfully decided was theirs to share for another eternity. She knew he’d be there to welcome her home again. She joined him on December 7th, 2017. In the days before her death, she talked about him often and told us that he came to her in a dream and said that when she was ready, he’d be there to come and get her. The hospice chaplain came the day before she passed and asked her what message did she want to leave the world with. And without missing a beat she said, “More love. Love everywhere. Everyone needs to love more.”
And that was that. She left and returned to her best friend, the love of her life. And how could it end any differently? They spent a lifetime with each other and journeyed through every one of life’s blessings and hardships together.
But the story doesn’t end there. This love story was just the start of a family legacy that all of us who are still living work to preserve for generations to come. You don’t grow up watching two people love each other so well and not pick up a thing or two. It would be a disservice to all of the sacrifices they made for us to not let love prevail.
I like to imagine their wedding day and how I was there...not yet physically of course… but in all those promises of love, life and hope. This is a love story that goes on and on and my hope is that to anyone reading this, you know this kind of love and you promise to keep it alive too. Not just for you but for your future grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Henry & Edean Blackburn March 24th, 1951
Sander Budd Edie
The receipts from the florist on their wedding day... I wish flowers were still that cheap!
The local newspaper article about their marriage paired with the wedding invititations.
My grandma saved every newspaper clipping ever! We have dozens of scrapbooks she made over the years. This page is from their days at the LBJ Ranch.