The Fowbles have been married for 68 years.
The 52nd annual celebration, conducted Tuesday, July 27, at the Champions Center, was hosted by Kiwanis and United Senior Services.
Music was provided by the Fred Hughes Band, which has performed every year since the event’s inception.
The party honors all Clark County couples who have been married for 50 years or more.
About 1,600 couples were invited this year with about 550 people in attendance, said Donna Frederick, executive director of USS.
The Fowbles, who have lived in Springfield since 1990, spent the 37 years before that in Enon, where they raised their three children, Robert Lee Fowble, Janice Wildman and Karen Vadney.
The Fowbles, both 87, have nine grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren — including a set of triplets — and another great-grandchild on the way.
“Family is very important to them. They’re very involved and keep the family close,” said daughter Wildman, who joined her parents at the celebration.
Robert spent his career at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he worked in an operations division. Lois finished nursing school after the couple’s children were older, and retired from Springfield Surgical Associates.
The Fowbles were active in the Enon Historical Society, playing a role in founding the organization.
After nearly seven decades together, they each had different, but equally uncomplicated views of why their marriage worked.
The secret to marital success for Lois is give and take. “Sometimes I’m right and sometimes he’s right, and he’s so easygoing,” she said.
For Robert, it was simple. “My secret is two words — ‘yes, dear,’ ” he said.
The couple renewed their wedding vows as part of their 50th wedding anniversary celebration almost two decades ago.
“I would do it all over again,” Lois said.
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