Yuma couple celebrates 60 years after blind date in Washington

Vern and Kathy Winter marked 60 years of marriage Wednesday with a trip to Laughlin, Nevada, and a dinner cruise. Their anniversary comes from a chance introduction that began at a gas station in Bellingham, Washington, in April 1965, when Vern was working after serving in the U.S. Navy.

The setup started as a favor between friends. One buddy wanted to borrow the car to take his new girlfriend out, and that girlfriend later brought Kathy back to the gas station to meet Vern. What started as an awkward blind date turned into a marriage that has now lasted six decades.

The Winters’ milestone lands in a place like Yuma, where military service and long-term roots are part of the city’s identity. Visit Yuma says Marine Corps Air Station Yuma is home to thousands of Marines and their families, and the city’s winter season draws a large visiting population that helps shape daily life in town. The organization says Yuma gets about 310 days of sunshine a year, and KYMA has reported, citing Visit Yuma, that about 60,000 to 70,000 snowbirds arrive each winter.

Visit Yuma also says the city’s population nearly doubles from January to March as seasonal visitors return. That mix of steady residents, military families and winter travelers gives a long marriage like the Winters’ a familiar place in the local story of Yuma County, where ordinary routines often stretch across generations.

The city’s economy adds another layer to that picture. Visit Yuma describes the area as the winter vegetable capital of the world and says it produces 91% of the leafy greens eaten in North America during the winter. Against that backdrop, the Winters’ decision to spend their anniversary in Laughlin offers a fitting end to a story that began with a spontaneous ride, a gas station meeting and a marriage that kept going long after the first awkward introduction.