ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Leroy and Lois McCullough met 72 years ago, and since then all their stars have lined up.  They celebrated their 70th year of marriage on Wednesday, December 21.

“My brother and I hitchhiked from the middle of Indiana to the north of Indiana to attend the wedding of a friend of ours, and sitting back there we’re looking at the whole row of girls up ahead and one had an especially nice smile so I asked a fellow from the church what’s that gal’s name? And he said Lois Anderson,” said McCullough.

Leroy didn’t have the courage to talk to her that night, so he instead he decided to send her a Christmas car when he got home.  But Lois didn’t respond, because she didn’t know who Leroy was!

Soon after writing the first letter Leroy was stationed in Chicago for the Navy, but he still couldn’t get Lois off his mind.  So he tried his luck again, this time reminding her who he was.

“I said would you write to me or do you not write to strange sailors?,” remembered Leroy.

“I said ‘no I usually don’t but with this sailor I will’ because he was so good looking,” said Lois.

“I think God planned our marriage before we even thought about it,” said Leroy.  But not everything about their story was perfect.

“I bought a used car that was a fairly decent car but I had to sell that car to buy an engagement ring,” recalled Leroy.

They got married on a cold day in December at the same church where their eyes first met.

Since then they have never looked back.

They have 5 kids, 6 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild.