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Church to celebrate love well past puppy stage
Archdiocese recognizes lasting marriages in area
Friday, June 5, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by MEREDITH SOMERS
After 70 years of marriage, Virginia and Tarquinio Parbuoni are standing tall and still going strong. The couple has registered to renew their vows with an Archdiocese of Washington ceremony.
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"I'd probably marry Virginia again if I came across her," said La Plata resident Tarquinio Parbuoni, as he surrenders to a smack from his wife. Grinning, Tarquinio quickly recovers from the love tap and finishes his thought.
"I couldn't have done any better."
A confident statement, but Mr. Parbuoni has a very long span of time providing evidence to support his sentiments. In November, Tarquinio and Virginia will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
"He's easy to get along with," Virginia said. "You learn to forgive. We're not always perfect, but who is?"
On Sunday, nearly 600 other imperfect — but perfectly devoted — couples will renew their vows at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., as part of the annual commemoration hosted by the Archdiocese of Washington.
"The whole reason we do it is to celebrate couples," said Peter Murphy, director of the archdiocese's Office for Family Life. "They're role models for our society. They've done something amazing: They took vows 50, 60, 75 years ago; they've worked through the thick and the thin and weathered the storm."
At the beginning of each year, the archdiocese sends out notices to Catholic parishes around the District, Southern Maryland and Montgomery and Prince George's counties requesting names and milestone anniversaries that will be celebrated this year.
To ensure a full — but not overwhelming — audience, the church asks for couples celebrating 25 years or more of wedded bliss. Most of the milestones are measured at five-year intervals.
This year about 800 couples registered, but due to scheduling conflicts, as well as aging and health, some cannot make the trip into the city.
More than 40 couples from Charles County have registered, with about half confirming their attendance at the Mass.
At 92 and 91 years young, respectively, Virginia and Tarquinio will not be making an appearance at the Mass, but will receive a commemorative and personalized certificate.
It was at a January party for a mutual friend that the two first met.
"We just had a lot in common. I thought she was attractive, and I liked her personality," Tarquinio said. "She wasn't flamboyant, and she was pretty nice."
"He was very quiet," Virginia said in her warm Southern accent. "But he was the first and only boy I loved."
Eleven months later, Tarquinio popped the question.
"He asked me to marry him, and I asked, ‘When,' and he said, ‘Anytime,'" Virginia remembered.
They set a date for the following week, and chose to marry in Mississippi to avoid wasting time for a blood test enforced by the state of Alabama.
Born and raised in Ellaville, Ga., Virginia grew up planning to become a teacher. But her family was hit hard by the Great Depression, and Virginia soon found herself studying to become a nurse, after taking up a suggestion from her father.
While Virginia was pursuing her certification, fate meanwhile was arranging for Tarquinio's entrance into her life.
A Plains, Pa., native, Tarquinio chose to pursue a degree in mining from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
By that time, Virginia had made her way to Tuscaloosa as well and found work in a veterans hospital.
After their marriage the Parbuoni family moved and expanded, as Virginia was transferred from veterans hospital to veterans hospital, and she became pregnant with the couple's first of three sons two years after tying the knot.
"I was brought up Protestant, and Tarquinio was raised Catholic. I knew he wouldn't give up his faith, so we married a second time in a Catholic church." Virginia said.
The Southern belle humorously pointed out that this upcoming vow renewal would be like getting married for a third time, as she and her husband also marked their 25th anniversary in a similar fashion.
Jobs took the family from Alabama to New York and eventually to La Plata. Virginia retired from public health in 1976, as the director of nursing for the Charles County Health Department.
Tarquinio continued to serve the U.S. Bureau of Standards, a job he retired from after 32 years in 1973.
The two remained active in their retirement: Fishing and working for him; swimming for her and; traveling for both.
They have two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild due in the fall.
And while life's pace has slowed a bit, that doesn't mean each day isn't another chance to strengthen a relationship decades in the making.
"When you get married, you make a commitment," Tarquinio said. "We've been lucky. We don't have to say what we want. We still argue, but I don't try to control her, and she doesn't try to control me. It's about being trustworthy."
The Mass and vow renewal will begin at 2 pm. June 7. The basilica is at 400 Michigan Ave., NE, Washington, D.C.
Marriages made in heaven
The Archdiocese of Washington will honor these Charles County couples at a Mass in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.
St. Mary's in Bryantown
Julius and Patricia Popp of Hughesville, 25 years
Mr. and Mrs. John Rybka of Waldorf, 25 years
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Cetlinski of Hughesville, 35 years
Mr. and Mrs. Wiliam Branick of Hughesville, 40 years
Michael and Regina Kijesky of La Plata, 40 years
James and Alice Stewart Jr. of Bryantown, 45 years
John and MaryAnn Kelly of Waldorf, 45 years
Paul and Fay Adriani of Waldorf, 50 years
Mr. and Mrs. Victor Estep of Charlotte Hall, 56 years
Edward and Patricia Padgett of Waldorf, 57 years
William L. and Sylvene Savoy of Hughesville, 69 years
Our Lady Help of Christians in Waldorf
Jerry and Helene Lanier of Waldorf, 25 years
Edwin and Therese Thiedman of Waldorf, 25 years
Lawrence and Dolores Koppe of Waldorf, 35 years
Joseph and Alberta Nikolai of Waldorf, 35 years
Raymond and Carol Carroll of Waldorf, 40 years
Patrick and Roberta Zalewski of Waldorf, 40 years
Leonard and Margaret Mary Hampton of Waldorf, 50 years
Francis and Wilma Koscheka of Waldorf, 50 years
Daniel and Gertrude Hammett of Waldorf, 55 years
George and Grace Albrittain of Waldorf, 60 years
Myles and Elizabeth Torreyson of Waldorf, 60 years
Ralph and Sarah Dixon of Waldorf, 59 years
Holy Ghost in Issue
Larry and Cindy Pilkerton of Cobb Island, 30 years
Jim and Jeanne Haynes of Cobb Island, 35 years
Mr. and Mrs. John Sine of Newburg, 50 years
Joe and Wilda Cheseldine of Newburg, 51 years
Walter and Catherine Rourke of Charlotte Hall, 54 years
Joan and Sam Bowling Jr. of Issue, 56 years
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony P. Myer of Swan Point, 57 years
John and Ann Marie Szpiech of Cobb Island, 59 years
John and Annie Smothers of Newburg, 60 years
James and Dorothy Jackson of Swan Point, 61 years
St. Francis de Sales in Benedict
Mr. and Mrs. George Quinn of Hughesville, 30 years
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Grabenstein of Hughesville, 40 years
Karen and James Randall Jr of Hughesville, 45 years
Sacred Heart in La Plata
Barbara and Thomas Smith of Waldorf, 40 years
John and Phyllis Hayden of La Plata, 45 years
Burkey and Margaret Boggs of La Plata, 50 years
Arturo and Sarah Victoria of La Plata, 50 years
Tarquinio and Virginia Parbuoni of La Plata, 70 years
St. Mary, Star of the Sea in Indian Head
Charles and Barbara Phipps of Indian Head, 56 years
Frank and Dorothy Kavlick of Indian Head, 50 years
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Harder Jr. of Indian Head, 40 years
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Gormley Sr. of Indian Head, 50 years
St. Peter's in Waldorf
Bob and Alicia Moore of Waldorf, 45 years
Elenora and Charles Butler of Faulkner, 50 years
Lewis and Marian Jenkins of Waldorf, 50 years
Percy and Edna Proctor of Waldorf, 50 years
