The voice on the other end of the phone was unconvinced.
ìThere must be someone married longer than us,î said Innisfail's Wally Oxtoby. ìYou just didn't look hard enough.î
ìToby and I have only been married 66 years,î she said. ìBut if you want to come talk to us you can.î
That was how the meeting between the still-smitten couple began last week as they head into another memorable Valentine's Day ñ still very much in love. While watching and listening to them, it's easy to become entranced by this remarkable couple who seemed to be so intertwined that they probably finish each other's thoughts.
ìWe met at Olds College in 1946,î said Wally, her eyes twinkling. ìI had moved to Olds to work and got a job at the cafeteria. Roy was a second-year student taking agriculture, and I saw him and he was so shy.î
Wally said that Roy had to get a friend of his to ask her out on his behalf for their first date. She said yes.
They dated for a year. Roy then asked her to marry him.
ìI remember having only four months to plan for the wedding. Back then you didn't do things fancy. Not like now.î
Wally, 86, and Toby (Roy), 88, were wed on Nov. 25, 1947 in Sundre at a local church in the presence of their friends and families.
ìWe had our dinner at Roy's parents' home after with immediate family and some friends, then went off to Banff for our honeymoon. Two or three days at Brewsters cabins and we were back,î she added.
The couple went straight into farming together, initially on Roy's family farm then later on their own in 1956.
ìRoy was born to farm, and farming was in my blood. We were meant for each other,î added Wally. ìI was not afraid to work outside, and Roy helped with the kids and with household chores.î
The pair had two daughters, Terry and Jeralyn, both of whom married farmers and still farm in the Innisfail area. Terry and her husband live on the farm Wally and Roy started out on. They have five grandchildren, four boys and one girl, and five great-grandchildren, all boys.
Toby was not only a farmer. He operated Toby's Backhoe for 27 years until 2001 while farming, said Wally.
Toby and Wally farmed until 1990 when they gave the farm to their daughter and her husband and moved ìout westî where they lived on a scenic piece of land until 1998. They spent 14 more years on an acreage north of their original farm, moving to Innisfail Country Lodge in September of 2013.
ìWe still haven't finished the move yet,î she said.
Avid skiers, they filled their lives with trips to Banff and snowbound points beyond. Roy was a volunteer member of the ski patrol in Banff on weekends as well as an active pilot for many of his years.
Wally spoke fondly of a memorable trip to Prince Edward Island.
ìRoy and I flew in our plane from Innisfail to P.E.I. and down through the United States and back home once,î she said. ìIt was a remarkable trip.î
But last year there was a deep moment of concern for the couple when Wally hit a moose on the highway and spent a few days in the hospital.
ìI missed her so much then,î said Roy.
These days they enjoy their time in the Innisfail Country Lodge where Wally devotedly takes care of Roy while each basks in the other's presence.
ìThere is no great secret to staying married 66 years,î said Wally. ìWe care for each other and would do anything for the other. When I first met Roy he had a great sense of humour, and he still does. It keeps him going.î
With an apparent straight face, Roy added they have always taken life seriously. It didn't work.
ìWe do not,î said Wally, with a look only a wife can give.
She then quickly added one final secret to their married life:
ìEnjoy life as you go along.î
