Bountiful couple celebrates 75 years of marriage

BOUNTIFUL — Even under the best circumstances, a married couple might only make it 50 or 60 years together.

And then, there are 94-year-olds Neil and Carma Fabrizio.

On Dec. 18, the couple celebrated 75 years of marriage.

“I still can’t believe it!” exclaimed Carma during an interview with KSL TV. “I wonder if I was ever single!”

Carma and Neil have actually known each other for nearly nine decades.

They both grew up in the tiny community of Hanna in Duchesne County and they believe they both first met when they started grade school around the age of 6.

“I was the only girl and he was the only boy in Hanna so we got together,” Carma smiled.

Actually getting married, however, didn’t prove to be that simple.

“My parents were against this marriage,” Carma said. “We decided we were going to elope.”

After discussing the plan further with her parents, Carma and Neil set the date of Dec. 18, 1948, to be wed in Provo.

From there, Neil joined the Air Force during the Korean War and served overseas.

Carma gave birth to one child and the couple adopted five others.

Through the years, the marriage endured no matter the obstacles, distance, or occasional disagreements that came up day-to-day.

“There are days,” laughed Carma. “Like when you go to Smith’s and you lose him and have to page him and wonder where he’s at.”

Neil acknowledged that had just happened Thursday.

“I just loved her so much,” Neil said. “Nothing could change it.”

The couple acknowledged the current era posed challenges they would have never imagined back in the 1940s, including meeting significant others online.

“It is crazy out there, you know,” Carma said. “(People) don’t have patience anymore.”

Still, at a time when many marriages might be lucky to last 75 months — let alone 75 years — they urged others not to give up on love.

“You don’t give up,” Carma said. “You can work problems out if you’re patient enough.”