When married couples make it to the 50 year mark they are recognized as ‘Golden.’ But for making it to 60 years of wedded bliss, you get your own story in the Marshall County Journal! Larry and Lori Buntrock recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in November 2024, and shared their story of dating, marriage and lasting love.
Larry, who grew up in Groton, and Lori, who was raised in NW Iowa, started their courtship back in 1963 while Lori was attending college in Minneapolis, and Larry was in the same city working for GTA Feeds. Larry and Lori first met at a mutual friend’s apartment. Later in the day, they all ended up at Lori’s apartment. Lori’s date for the evening fell through and she asked “Who wants to take me to the show tonight?, Larry volunteered and the rest is history,” Lori says with a smile. Four months later Larry joined the Navy and was sent to boot camp in the Great Lakes. The couple could only communicate through letters, which Lori says she kept and still has them all these years later. Lori found a job working in Milwaukee, which was closer to Larry and recalls the train bringing him there every third weekend for a visit.
Once boot camp was over Larry received orders that would station him in San Diego. However, before leaving, he purchased a diamond for Lori, and left it with his dad who lived in Groton. He knew in his heart Lori was the one, so he told her to go pick up her ring from his dad. After two months of living apart, he phoned home and told Lori he was tired of being without her, and wanted to get married right away.
Plans were made, and Larry was granted a two-week leave to come home and marry his sweetheart. The couple was married in a country church near Lori’s roots in NW Iowa. Lori made her own wedding dress, costing just $25 for materials.
She shares the story from their wedding day: “My sister was my bridesmaid, and she put Larry’s ring on her thumb so she would know where it was. When the Pastor asked for the rings, it was stuck on her thumb! So, we had to borrow the best man’s wedding band for that part of the ceremony!” Larry recalls how fast it all went, “We were married on Saturday and we headed back west on Monday with the ’57 Chevy packed full.” When asked if Lori’s family was sad to see her move across country, she stated “My mom cried, but I was excited, until we got to Kansas, then I started to cry too as it was setting in just how far from home we would be living.”
Once in San Diego the couple found an efficiency apartment and made it their own. With a Murphy style bed, and a tiny kitchen, the couple filled it with love. They recall having to rent a TV for the weekend of the Super Bowl as they couldn’t afford to buy one and had no credit history for a loan.
After four years of Larry serving his country in the Navy, the couple decided to move closer to home. They packed up their car and their five-month-old son Jeff, and headed back east. Their years to follow would be filled with Larry managing grain elevators throughout Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota. Lori followed her husband, making a home wherever they ended up. The couple welcomed their daughter Jill and Lori found herself being a stay at home mom, until the children grew, and decided to use her degree in lab and x-ray and would end her career working at the Marshall County Healthcare Center.
The couple reflects on their fun loving, well-traveled and blessed life. They both have had their fair share of health concerns with Larry being a two-time cancer survivor and both he and Lori having bypass heart surgery.
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, when asked what their secret to a long marriage is, they both agreed that doing things together is so important, talking out your issues, and never giving up on one another.
