Loving Couple Has Been Celebrating Anniversary at Burger King for 50 Years
Some traditions seem odd to those not involved, but they can hold so many precious memories to those who are. A New Jersey couple has just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by keeping a tradition they started in 1969.
Lloyd and Sandi Howard got married on June 22, 1968. A year later, on their first anniversary, the couple was rushing to catch a movie and passed by a Burger King; they decided to grab a quick dinner before heading to the theater.
The next year they were trying to decide where to go to lunch and decided that they might as well visit the same fast food restaurant and just keep the tradition alive.
“We just figured, maybe for good luck, that we’d just keep going back on our anniversary,” Lloyd said.
The couple has embraced their ritual every year since, making sure to get something on the fast food restaurant’s menu. Nothing stopped them from celebrating, not sickness or any other other important life events that fell on the same day.
Tracy Gorelczenko, one of Lloyd and Sandi’s daughters, remembers having to eat there on the day of her high school graduation.
“While most of my friends dined at fine restaurants with their families, I kept it a secret from the other kids that we had to eat at Burger King for my graduation,” she said.
This year the couple is celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary so Tracy and her sister decided to surprise their parents with a special treat.
Knowing their parents would eat at the local Burger King, the two sisters along with their children, six in total, patiently waited for them to walk in the door.
The grandchildren prepared sweet songs and chants to greet their grandparents as they walked in. Lloyd and Sandi were delighted.
“They were all there, and they’d never met us at Burger King before; it was a total surprise,” Sandi said. “We were just floored. The most important thing was to be with them.”
After being greeted by their family and a local news station, the couple enjoyed two Whoppers and reminisced over the past five decades.
When asked what the secret to a healthy marriage was, Sandi responded, “Communication, if you can have it.”
Lloyd quickly added, “And staying out of the same room.” At least for Lloyd and Sandi, Burger King has played a pretty big role, too.
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