Asbury Heights residents renew vows for Valentine’s Day
Marie and Norman Waldman hold hands during the vow renewal ceremony.
Jean and Norm Rosfeld read from the ceremony’s program.
Beverly Harris listens to the ceremony.
Teresa and Joe McKeown
Magdaline and John Busse have been married for 52 years.
Deacon Charles Vukotich leads the ceremony.
Diana Funaro served as flower girl.
Kathleeen and Fred Goellner
Virginia and Joe Wolfenberger
Carnegie Mellon University still was known as Carnegie Tech when Jean and Norm Rosfeld met there as students.
“Andy Warhol was one of our classmates,” said Norm, who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
He and Jean were married in 1950, and going on seven decades later, they joined nine other couples to participate in a Valentine’s Day vow renewal at Asbury Heights in Mt. Lebanon.
“We decided for Valentine’s Day to do a special event,” Asbury Heights activities manager Teresa Funaro said. “So we got all of our couples together who are married in the nursing center, and we invited them to participate.”
Along with the Rosfelds, marking many years of marriage were Magdaline and John Busse, Charles and Patricia Phoebe, Beverly and Murray Harris, Teresa and Joe McKeown, Kay and John Gannis, Marie and Norman Waldman, Carl and Barbara Murawski, Kathleen and Fred Goellner, and Joe and Virginia Wolfenberger.
Diana Funaro, Teresa’s daughter, served as flower girl, and William Atwood was ring bearer. Deacon Charles Vukotich of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh officiated the ceremony.
“I call on all of you who are renewing your vows today to realize the blessing that you have,” he told the couples. “We have famous people, billionaires, who don’t have what you have, and who might give all those billions to have what you have. We have to realize, all of us here, the blessing that is marriage, and how wonderful that is.”
The ceremony – followed by a reception, complete with a wedding cake created by Jennifer Schall of CURA Hospitality – took place in front of a full house.
“We sent out invitations to all of the families of the residents who were participating, and we invited all of our residents in the building,” Teresa Funaro said. “I’m trying to bring our activities to the next level, and I thought this was a nice way to do it.”