Estelle and Arnold Rynston attribute the longevity of their 63-year marriage to their close friendship.
“We are best friends. We listen to each other. We talk to each other,” Estelle Rynston said. “Our love for each other is undisputed.”
As proof, the Rynston’s will be joining approximately 70 couples in renewing their vows at the Town of North Hempstead’s third annual Valentine’s Day Marriage Vow Renewal Ceremony at Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington. For the second year in a row.
“We had a great time last year. We liked it very much,” Arnold said.
The Valentine’s Day ceremony is an annual event for couples who have been wed for 50 years or more.
“It’s really becoming a popular event,” Gross said. “Seniors are more getting younger every year, more vibrant and more involved in the community.”
Town Clerk Leslie Gross said she starts getting phones from couples interested in participating in September.
The theme of this year’s event is “Over the Years, Flying High.”
The Rynston’s say they’ve shared common interests over the years, including playing bridge, golf and living in the Roslyn area.
“We love everything about this community,” she said. “We have all our friends in the area.”
After living in Flower Hill since 1955, they sold their house three years ago and moved into an apartment in Roslyn Heights.
The Rynstons were introduced through a mutual friend, and after courting for two years, they were married in 1948.
Arnold Rynston, 88, had enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 and became a radar bombardier in the 8th Army Air Force, serving in Europe during World War II. He flew 14 missions as a replacement bombardier during the war and vividly recalls seeing the firestorm over Dresden when the allies dropped incendiary bombs on the German city.
“Life has been good to me,” he said. “I did what I had to do.”
In the years since his service, he said, “My wife won’t let me fly anywhere.”
After the war, he went back to Brooklyn College and his studies included a course in insurance.
He applied for a job at Allstate Insurance and was hired. He worked there as a salesman for 50 years, until he retired in 2000.
Estelle, 84, worked at Powerline for Publishers Clearing House for 12 years before she retired.
The Rynstons raised three children who attended schools in Port Washington, all three graduating from Schreiber.
Their eldest daughter, Karen, is a special education teacher in Houston. Their son Neil is a professional clarinetist. Their youngest daughter, Lisa Rynston Lobel had a career in social work before she had children.
These days, the Rynstons spend a lot of time at the Sid Jacobson Community Center Health Club in Roslyn.
Arnold gives history lectures there and belongs to an elderly men’s group that meets weekly to discuss topical subjects in the news. Estelle belongs to a woman’s group that meets at the center monthly and also participates in a knitting class that makes clothing for children in need.
They have four grandchildren from their two daughters. Their grandson, Erin Sprecher, is a freelance sport photographer and was on assignment in Indianapolis for the Super Bowl on Sunday.
