Joe and Marie Bianchi celebrate 65 years

Joe and Marie Bianchi, longtime residents of the Belle Terre community of Bluff Park, recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

Joe, a mechanical engineering graduate of Auburn University, worked as a former executive with U.S. Steel and now enjoys active retirement with Marie. He is a past president of Hoover’s New Horizons group. The couple also share an interest in ballroom dancing, a technique they spent 10 years teaching together.

The Bianchis have been blessed with three children, seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, most of whom live in the area and make the Bianchi home the center of their holiday celebrations.

Reminiscing about their first date, Joe Bianchi shared this story:

“I was home on 30-day leave from the war. It was Christmas. I asked my brother what people did for fun after midnight mass, and he said, ‘Well, we have a party.’ So we hustled over to a friend’s house and crashed their party. Right away I saw a young girl there that could dance real nice and I danced with her; I kind of liked her. The party broke up around four or five in the morning, and I asked for a date that evening; she accepted.

Well, as I was on military leave, I had no car, so I had a buddy double date with me and we used his van. That was all fine and well except that when he and his girlfriend picked me up, there was no room for a fourth. So here I am on my first date with this girl, and I told her the only place she could sit was on my lap. I had to make sure my hands stayed in the proper place the whole time! We went to the Alabama Theater and had a great time. My mother had a lot of leftovers, so after the show, the four of us ate there and then I took her home.”

And the rest is history.