Los Gatos couple celebrates 60 years of humor and love
By Shari Kaplan
A diamond is treasured because of its rarity and because it must go through many years of growth and change before it becomes what people consider a precious gem.
It's not surprising, then, that the diamond is the traditional gift given in honor of a 60th wedding anniversary, which is similarly rare and must also grow and change as it weathers the passing years.
Longtime Los Gatans Rulon and Marguerite Bigelow are among the few to reach the diamond mark in their marriage. So when they did, their children, Claudia of Los Gatos and Bob of Los Angeles, decided it was time to throw a party.
"We didn't really do a lot of hoopla for their 50th anniversary, so we wanted to really celebrate for their 60th," says Claudia. Rulon is the more introverted partner, while Marguerite, Claudia reveals with a chuckle, is the type of person who will tell people not to fuss, but inwardly hopes something festive will be planned.
The Bigelows certainly got their fill of hoopla on April 7, when their two children and three of their four granddaughters hosted a surprise party of some 75 guests at the couple's home near the intersection of Union Avenue and Blossom Hill Road. (Their real anniversary is April 17.)
Marguerite says she was glad her children threw the party there because this adds to the house's 50-plus years of happy memories, including its use as the venue for six weddings. And, she adds, "My grandchildren, nieces, nephews and grandnieces and nephews have always felt it was home."
Originally, home for the couple was San Francisco, where they met through a mutual friend. At the time, Rulon played trumpet with several San Francisco symphonic groups and performed in concert halls, hotels and radio stations.
"I thought he was really cute," Marguerite recalls. "And the fact that he was a musician was very exciting and romantic to a girl of 19!"
Because some of Rulon's performances ended late, Marguerite got "special permission" from her parents to go out with him afterward. They got married shortly before World War II and honeymooned in Carmel, where they stayed at an inn she likens to a bed-and-breakfast. Musing on how times have changed in more than half a century, Marguerite says that their lovely accommodations cost them just $2.50 per night.
From San Francisco, the Bigelows lived for a short time in Felton, then settled in Los Gatos, where they bought their home from Pat Herbert, who used to write a society column for one of the past incarnations of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times.
Along with his gigs as a professional trumpeter, which he continued until a few years ago, Rulon's "day job" was that of an IBM engineer. Marguerite is a retired historian for the San Jose South Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Over the years, the couple has also found time to travel the world.
In considering whether there's a secret to staying married to the same person for 60 years, Marguerite laughs: "You really do have to have a sense of humor!"
Rulon agrees. "Both people in the relationship have to have a sense of humor--a good one!" he says. He has another word to the wise on that topic as well: "You have to pick the 'right one' to begin with!"
One of the many attributes Rulon says he likes best about his wife is her financial savvy. "She's the one who handles all the money, and I don't want any part of it," he admits, laughing.
"She knows what she's doing and does it well. It's wonderful."
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
Marguerite and Rulon Bigelow celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
