Agoura Hills couple celebrates 65 years together

SO HAPPY TOGETHER—Agoura Hills Senior Retreat residents Marilyn and Seymour Lauber prove that love can last a lifetime. The couple recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. Their first encounter wasn't love at first sight. "I didn't really like his red hair," said Marilyn Lauber.

Their wedding wasn't a fairy tale, either. "Who had money back then?" said Marilyn's husband, Seymour Lauber.

Still, nothing was going to stand in the way of Seymour and Marilyn becoming life-long soul mates. The Laubers recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary and still act as if they are newlyweds.

"We have never blamed each other for anything," says Marilyn, believing that is one of the reasons for their matrimonial longevity.

They have been through more than most couples, too, having prematurely loss both their boys, one at age 18 to leukemia and the other at age 40 to a heart condition. They still have one granddaughter whom they cherish.

The couple spent their 65th anniversary enjoying a surprise intimate dinner in the Agoura Hills Senior Retreat's private dining room, which was decorated for the occasion. The Laubers, who were neighbors in New York, first met in a momand-pop grocery when Seymour was 15 and Marilyn, 14.

"She was wearing a cute red beret and I took it off her head and played keep-away with it with my friend," recalled Seymour.

Marilyn eventually overlooked Seymour's red hair, and when he went into the Navy in 1941 they wrote often. Seymour said, "I was nicknamed 'mattressback Sam,' always on my bed writing her letters."

In 1943, he obtained special leave to return to New York so the two could marry. They had a small wedding in a small Jewish synagogue followed by family members taking them out to lunch.

The Laubers relocated to California in 1962 where Seymour pursued his passion for old world craftsmanship, becoming a gold leaf gilder. He repaired harps and worked on both the Rococco and Régence rooms at the Getty Villa.

The couple retired to Palm Springs, and after Marilyn suffered from complications of hiatal hernia, they returned to the Los Angeles area and moved into Agoura Hills Senior Retreat.

"Every day is special now," says Seymour, nearly losing his Marilyn to the illness. He even waits for her outside the retreat's beauty shop while she has her hair and nails done.

Still able drive, Seymour frequently takes her to a "romantic lunch" at nearby Brent's Deli. Even after 65 years of being together they still go to bed hugging, says Seymour.

"Couples today shouldn't get presents until three years after they are married," he adds, dismayed by today's high divorce rate.

"They're our poster couple," said Brenda Hans, the nursing home's director. "They're the ones always holding hands."