JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

Two Southfield
couples reflect on
65 and 71 years
of marriage.

ach morning, Sarah and Louis
Davis greet each other the same
way.
He quips, "Good morning, old
woman." And she responds,
"Good morning, old man."
After 65 years of marriage,
the Southfield couple is still very
much in love. The years, they
say, have flown by, quicker than
they could have ever imagined.
Mrs. Davis swears her hus-
band is more romantic now. Mr.
Davis jokes about visiting his
girlfriends, referring to the oth-
er women who live in their apartment
building.
"He never used to hold my hand in
public or kiss me in front of anyone,"
Mrs. Davis says. "Now he is extreme-
ly different. He does those things."
The Davis' 65 years pale only slight-
ly in comparison to the 71 years Her-
ta and Eugene Orbach have spent
together.
The Orbachs met at a temple in Ger-
many. They say it was love at first sight.
Now in their 90s, Mr. and Mrs. Orbach
maintain a mutual appreciation for
each other.
These couples, both residents at
Trowbridge, an apartment complex for
senior citizens, believe love and trust
are key to their marriages. And equal-
ly important to the equation, they say,
is a good sense of humor. For example,
Mr. and Mrs. Davis joke about the real
reason they hold hands. They say it's
to keep them from killing each other.

Sarah and Louis Davis: Engaged after five weeks.

Herta and Eugene

Mr. and Mrs. Davis, both native De-
troiters, met through his sister. She
wasn't crazy about him after their first
meeting, but they went out again any-
way.
Within five weeks, Mrs. Davis had
an engagement ring. She was a bride
one month shy of her 20th birthday.
Her groom was, as she describes him,
"an old bachelor'' at 28.
Over the years, Mr. and Mrs. Davis
have spent a considerable amount of
time together. They both love square
dancing and for 40 years devoted some
of their free time to the activity. Mr.
Davis, a paint contractor by profession,
earned extra money as a square dance
caller, although he did it because it was
his passion. His wife always worked as
his assistant.
Mr. Davis retired at 59 and they
bought an Airstream camper. The cou-
ple spent the next several years tray-

Orbach: Seven decades

of marriage.

eling around North America. They before moving to Michigan almost six
moved to Florida in the late 1960s and years ago and joining family.
lived in Homestead until 1992, when
Mr. Orbach worked for over 30 years
Hurricane Andrew destroyed their in the metal business and he and his
home.
wife have two sons. Today, they are
They spent the next several months grandparents of six and great-grand-
shuffling back and forth between Flori- parents to seven children.
da and Michigan before settling in a
Mrs. Orbach said they were raised
Florida apartment.
to believe that a marriage was perma-
The Davises permanently moved nent; the idea of men and women liv-
back to the Detroit area a year ago. ing together before marriage wasn't
Their two daughters live here, and they even considered.
have four grandchildren and two great-
So what's changed in their seven
grandchildren.
decades 9f marriage?
The Orbachs came to the United
"We live like brother and sister now,"
States shortly after the end of World Mrs. Orbach says.
War II. While Mr. Orbach spent some
Mrs. Davis, in revealing her secrets
time in a concentration camp, his wife for a successful marriage, advises,
escaped Nazi persecution.
"Don't try to change him. You married
The Orbachs, who still speak with him for what he is, so accept him for
heavy accents, first settled in Brooklyn who he is. No matter what, never go to
because they had family there. They bed angry, and never be afraid to say
subsequently spent 17 years in Florida you're sorry."

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