LONGEVITY MARRIED 50 YEARS: PETE AND GLENDA JOHNSON.

Byline: Simone Schramm Trimm

Pete and Glenda Johnson of Newhall celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their family on on Oct. 16 at a family dinner followed by a trip to Branson, Mo. They were married Oct. 16, 1955, at Westwood Hills Christian Church near UCLA and celebrated with a reception at Glenda's Sigma Kappa sorority house.

They met during Easter week in Laguna Beach, while Pete was a U.S. Marine and Glenda attended UCLA.

Following that Pete finished his stint with the Marines and returned to college. He received a football scholarship, which allowed the couple to move to Idaho for Pete to attend the University of Idaho. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration. He later worked as a personnel manager for Deutsch Co. and later for Continental Device/Teledyne.

When their first child was born, they moved to Banning and, later, Westminster, before moving to Newhall in 1971. There Pete established a sporting goods business. Pete also loves to participate in various sports, including the BUDBOYS Softball Club.

Glenda became a stay-at-home mom for awhile, worked as a travel consultant and also worked in the Hart High School District. She has held many offices with the Santa Clarita Republican Women since 1972.

The Johnsons have traveled extensively, seeing much of the United States and the world. They planned to celebrate their anniversary with a Mississippi riverboat cruise, but plans were altered by Hurricane Katrina.

They have four children: Valerie Johnson and Brian Johnson, both of Newhall, and Linda Parr and Eric Johnson, both of Acton. They also have 11 grandchildren.

MARRIED 60 YEARS: LARRY AND JOANN TARIZZO

Larry and JoAnn Tarizzo of Santa Clarita celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a cruise to Mexico on Nov. 4. They were married on Nov. 1, 1945, in Las Vegas.

They met in Glendale at the Bob's Big Boy where they both worked - JoAnn as a car hop, Larry as a cook. JoAnn graduated from Glendale High School and Larry graduated from Hoover High School in Burbank.

Following high school, Larry joined the Navy and served in France for two years. After the war, he resumed his job at Bob's Big Boy before starting his own construction company in 1950. Larry has been a member of the Rotary club for many years and is currently active in the Elks Lodge.

The both love cruises and have traveled to Alaska, the Mexican Riviera and Hawaii. They also love to play a good game of poker.

They have two children: Kathy Reynolds and Greg Tarizzo, both of Santa Clarita. They also have two grandchildren.

MARRIED 60 YEARS: MARK AND ROMY MATYAS

Mark and Romy Matyas of Granada Hills celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Nov. 19 with family and friends at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills. They were married on Nov. 10, 1945, in Aurora, Ill. They met on a Greyhound bus in Chicago while Mark was returning from Boston and Romy was traveling to Cleveland. They corresponded for a few years until Mark stopped in Cleveland and proposed to her.

Mark graduated from East Aurora High School and joined the Navy. He attended several Navy electronics schools and became a Sonar Man First Class. He was stationed in the Sea of Japan in World War II and the Yellow Sea during the Korean War. Following his military service, he worked in the aerospace industry for Convair in San Diego and for 27 years with Hughes Aircraft Co., doing flight test operations at Van Nuys Airport, among other things.

Romy graduated from Chisholm High School in Chisholm, Minn., in 1942. She attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, majoring in teaching. After graduating, she became a mother and worked for Bank of America in San Diego.

She loves books, especially biographies and classics. They both love ballroom dancing to big-band music.

They have three children: Christopher Matyas of Granada Hills, Laurie Marshall of Westlake Village and Mark Allan Matyas of Laveen, Ariz.

MARRIED 60 YEARS: JOHN AND ROSE DAMIANO

John and Rose Damiano of Northridge celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends at the Knollwood Country Club in Granada Hills on Nov. 12. They were married on Nov. 11, 1945, at St. Anthony's Church in Revere, Mass. They met in Boston in 1940 through mutual friends. At the time, John was a plumber and Rose was a milliner (someone who makes and sells hats).

John was born and raised in Boston's North End; Rose grew up in Revere. In 1954, they moved across the country to California, where they settled in Encino.

Rose was active in St. Cyril's Church, served on several committees and was in the church bowling league. She is an accomplished seamstress and designer, specializing in formal gowns, most notably wedding gowns. She also worked at Encino Cleaners.

John was a plumber and pipe fitter and retired from Pipefitters Local 250 in 1982. While their sons were young, John was involved in the Encino Little League as a coach.

John and Rose have been active in the Italian Catholic Federation for more than 48 years.

They love to travel, have gone on numerous cruises and to Japan, England, Ireland, Scandinavia and Italy, visiting the villages where their families came from.

They have four children: Marie Elena Miller of Granada Hills, Rocco Damiano of Granada Hills, Madeline Damiano of San Jose and John Damiano Jr. of San Ramon.

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(1 -- 2) no caption (Pete and Glenda Johnson)

(3) no caption (Larry and Joann Tarizzo)

(4) no caption (Mark and Romy Matyas)

(5) no caption (John and Rose Damiano)