moments

Meant To Be

Couple celebrates 50 years,
proving 1960s computer-based
dating service successful.

Judy and Leonard
Poger through
the years.

KARLEIGH STONE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

L

ove manifests itself in a number of
ways. It can bloom from years of
friendship, become obvious after
months of dating or, for some, it can
begin with the first glance, first date or,
in the case of Judy and Leonard Poger,
the first phone call.
“The night the Leonard called intro-
ducing himself, I was in the hallway on
the phone for an hour and a half. The
chemistry was great right off the bat,”
Judy says.
Judy and Leonard met as a result of
Project TACT, the first computer dating
service, developed in the 1960s and based
on a pen pal matchmaking machine at
the 1964 World’s Fair.
The creators wanted something that
not only matched individuals based on
personality like pen pals, but also geo-
graphically to give them their best shot
at finding a relationship that would last.
TACT, or Technical Automated Computer
Testing, was a 100-question survey that
cost $5 per person, a significant commit-
ment at the time.
“Just after I turned 30, I saw it in a
local newspaper and immediately sent in
to get a questionnaire,” Leonard says. “I
received a list of five young ladies, some
Jewish, some not. Judy’s name was at the
bottom, but I called her first. She lived
on the same street as Temple Israel, so I
figured she must be Jewish.”
Although it was a rare way to meet
back then, after their first phone call and
their first date in February of 1967, the
two knew their relationship was bound
to stand the test of time.
Five months after meeting, the couple
got engaged. This year marks the Pogers’
50th wedding anniversary. The two were
married on April 4, 1968, at Congregation

Citron 50th

FEB. 20

Lisa (Mann) and Nir
Basse of Forest Park,
Ill., welcome their son,
Asher Alexander Basse.
Delighted grandparents
are Pnina and Elie Basse of
Bloomfield, Doug and Kary
Mann, and Joan Mann, all
of Illinois.

Basse

52

March 29 • 2018

jn

J

anice and Dr. Henry Citron
will observe their golden
wedding anniversary on
March 31. They celebrated
their anniversary with a trip to
Paris, France, with their chil-
dren, Dr. Alissa Citron and Dr.
Jeffrey Lupovitch, Marcy and Dr.
Matthew Citron; and grandchild-
ren, Miriam, Aviva, Naomi and
Ezra Lupovitch, and Annie, Lily
and Levi Citron. •

Israel in Flint. Fifty years later, they are
still going strong. They credit much of it
to their shared Jewish beliefs.
“The glue that’s held us together is
shared values,” Judy says. “That has
always been really important to me.
When I met Leonard, it was quite obvi-
ous our values were the same and then
on top of that we have shared interests.”
Both agree that their family and its
legacy of carrying on these principles is
one of the most memorable parts of their
marriage. The Pogers have three children
and seven grandchildren.
“It’s a great sense of satisfaction seeing
how well our children and grandchild-
ren are doing. They are productive and
responsible people and bring us a lot of
joy,” Judy says.
Leonard adds, “Judy and I have been
firm to raise our children Jewish. We are
overjoyed with the traditions being car-
ried through two more generations.”
Their son Herschel believes these val-
ues will continue to be passed down for
many years to come.
“I think what makes my parents’ mar-
riage strong is their unending commit-
ment to the values of respect, uncondi-
tional love and morality,” he says. “This
has been a powerful legacy that will carry
on with their heirs for generations.”
The two attend Adat Shalom
Synagogue and still live in the home they
bought together in Westland 50 years
ago.
“When we were talking about getting
married and our future, Leonard was
31 and I was 29,” Judy says. “We were
speculating how long a life we would
have together, and we predicted 40 years.
Reaching 40 was memorable, but here we
are at 50!”•