Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Law Firm Celebrates LI Couples Married 50-Plus Years

This press release was originally featured on LI Business News

A Melville-based law firm celebrated Long Island couples who have been married 50 years or more.

The celebration was the third annual “lasting love” Valentine’s Day dinner, at the invitation of Cona Elder Law. This year’s event was held at Verona Ristorante in Farmingdale, where couples enjoyed a free, three-course meal.

“This room is full of beautiful people who got it right,” said Jennifer Cona, founder and managing partner of Cona Elder Law, at the event, according to a news release about the event.

“There are a lot of things older adults can teach us, including the secrets of staying together. Lessons of patience, of compromise,” she said. “All those things that it takes to stay together for so long.”

At the dinner, couples enjoyed a traditional Italian dinner including appetizers, dinner and dessert, plus a glass of wine or a cocktail.

The couples also shared stories about how they met, and the secret to marriage longevity.

“We got married very young and we grew up together,” Shelley Rudes of Woodbury, said in the news release. She and her husband Jonathan have been together for 51 years. “We never go to bed angry.”

“I think it takes a lot of patience and a sense of humor,” Diane Powell, of Roslyn, said in the news release. She and her husband Tom have been married 52 years.

“You need to keep your relationships with friends and family and be ready to face things you don’t expect,” Powell said. “You have to stick together in good times and bad.”