The first time Catharine and David Bushnell ever saw one another, he was 16 and she was 17, and both were students at Broadway High School in Seattle, Washington.

The couple, who now lives at Peconic Landing in Greenport — he is still able to live in their apartment, while she requires medical care and has a room in The Shores, a skilled nursing and enriched living community — are deeply devoted to one another.

On March 1, David will turn 91, and on March 17, Catharine will turn 92. And yet that spark that grew into a lifetime flame burns still, as the couple celebrates Valentine's Day and a lifetime of love.

Recalling the first time he met the young girl who was later to become his bride, David said, "She was the first color picture that I took. My first Kodachrome slide was of her. I still have it."

Despite medical challenges, the pair still spends each day together. David visits with his beloved wife every day, sharing meals with her and engaging in laughter and conversation.

Catharine sent him cookies in 1945, and although David laughingly remembers that they arrived a box full of crumbs, the gift made a life-altering impact.

The pair didn't date in high school; she went off to college and he was drafted.

"When I was discharged and back home, we decided we had something. We were married on September 20, 1947."

Laughing, Catharine remembered how her groom and his best man marched down the aisle, Army style, making her laugh "on the inside."

Smiling and eyes lit up with the memory, the pair recalled their Episcopalian wedding. "A cat said 'meow' in the middle of the service," David said.

It's the laughter, both agree, that's the unbreakable bond.

"I think laughter is the main part of togetherness," Catharine said. "If you can't laugh at something. . . "



David nodded. "I heartily support that. We have laughed, even through our tears."

The years have not always been easy. The couple, who have three children, lost their oldest daughter, who was also named Catharine. The memory still fills Catharine's eyes with tears as she quietly looks away.

But through it all, their love has been their strength and salvation.

"It's been a very good life," David said.



Catharine smile. ""I have absolutely no complaints."

Her room is decorated with photos of family and friends from Peconic Landing, where the couple were "pioneers," moving in back in 2002. Both say Peconic Landing is filled with staff as close as family and a warmth that colors their days with caring.

Over the years, couples have minor ups and downs, they said. "He complains all the time and I just smile and give him a cookie," Catharine said.

Over the years, David was focused on working "while she was doing the hard things, like raising the kids."

Her two daughters always loved horseback riding, so much time was spent driving them to and fro. "But they enjoyed it," she said.

Ten years after their second daughter was born, "all of a sudden, a son appeared," Catharine said. "They're very great kids."

After graduate school, David said he and Catharine moved to the East Coast in 1952, where they settled in Huntington. "But Seattle is still home."

Long Island, surrounded by water, brings back sweet memories of Seattle, Catharine said. When they decided to give up their Huntington home, both agreed the time was right; David no longer has to care for almost an acre of property, blowing snow in the winter. "But he did look cute on his tractor, with his orange snowsuit," she said.

Shared Adventures Abroad

It's the shared canvas of memories that brings the couple joy as they look back on a rich lifetime. "When I left the Army, she had never flown and she wanted to fly. So I saved to rent an hour on a Piper Cub on Lake Washington. She asked what a tailspin was, and I tried to spin the aircraft, but it wouldn't do it," he said.

Tailspin or not, though, their eyes still sparkle when the recall the shared flight, Catharine smitten by her handsome fighter pilot husband.

"it was fun," she said.



In later years, the pair enjoyed many cruises. "It was so funny because I practically had to drag him by the ear to get him on the ship and then, I practically had to drag him by the ear to get him off, he had such a good time."

Another time, they visited Alaska and soared up to see the glaciers by helicopter. "I took some pictures and video of her getting out of the craft and she was just glowing. I thought she was going to buy the helicopter," David said.

Their travels also took them to the Caribbean, where her husband "wanted to hug a palm tree," Catharine said; they also visited Greece, Istanbul, the Baltic Sea and St. Petersburg, where they toured the Catherine Palace, "with a great room modeled after Versaille," Catherine said. "It was just gorgeous."

Words of Wisdom

Years of marriage have afforded insight on how to keep love alive, both said.

"You have to be very smart," David said. "My sister always said, 'How come you don't have toe-curling romance?' and I said, 'Well, should I?' You are two live, human beings about to live together, and you've never done that before. Be ready for things that will make you unhappy, sometimes. Be ready and prepared to work through difficult times. You've got to work together to solve things."



Catharine agreed. "Expect to yell at each other every so often."

David added, "Understand that there's value in each of you and make use of that, wherever you go."

Trying to advise young people, David said, isn't easy. They're excited about the whole idea of marriage, he said.

Honoring a lifetime commitment is key, the couple agreed.

"Just don't stomp away and get a divorce because you don't agree on something. Work it out," Catharine said.



And, David added, couple should prepare to have "fun, great times, and some sour times, as well. You're alive. Real people are like that."

The difference in today's generation is that young people haven't had the same life experiences, including wartime, he said. "We were of a generation that had to wake up a little bit early. We didn't really have teenage years."

David was serving his country and Catharine, driving a truck for the Red Cross when both were still so very young.

"Kids today don't have that kind of experience, and while I don't recommend it, it was something we had to go through," David said. "But I was very lucky, because I came home."



Reflecting on their life together, David said, "We had so many adventures together."

Love in his eyes, he put his arm around his wife tenderly.

"He's my first love, and my best friend," Catharine said.



David nodded quietly. "I will say, the word that's most important to me is "us," and that's the way it's always been."