LONGEVITY MARRIED 60 YEARS: BERNIECE AND JAMES WILSON.

Byline: - Nicole Sunkes

Berniece and James Wilson of Woodland Hills celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Feb. 10 at a dinner with family and friends.

They met in Grand Rapids, Mich., where Berniece lived and James was on a business trip. It was love at first sight, and they were married on Feb. 10, 1945, in Westwood.

Berniece grew up in Grand Rapids, graduated from business school and worked at Michigan Bell Telephone Co. She is very active in the Woodland Hills Woman's Club and the West Valley Garden Club.

James grew up in Perryton, Texas, and graduated from Oklahoma City University. His family moved to Santa Monica, and he worked at Douglas Aircraft and the Rand Corp. The family has lived in Vietnam and Bangkok, Thailand. He retired from Rand after 31 years.

They have three children: Timothy of Thousand Oaks, Donald of Minneapolis and Joan Marie Kabosius of Chatsworth. They also have four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

MARRIED 55 YEARS: MARY AND ALLAN ARNOLD

Mary and Allan Arnold of Tarzana celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary with their family on Jan. 30 at Maggiano's Little Italy in Woodland Hills.

They met in Allan's store in Los Angeles when Mary was a customer. They dated for one year and were married on Jan. 29, 1950, in Las Vegas.

Mary graduated from McKinley High School in Washington, D.C., in 1935. She worked for the Navy for 10 years during World War II. She was also a homemaker.

Allan graduated from George Washington High School in 1934. He owned grocery stores in Los Angeles, Brentwood and West Los Angeles for 48 years. He was a member of Optimists International and had perfect attendance for 40 years.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan shopped in Allan's Brentwood store for more than 20 years, and when Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1981, they were invited to the White House for a private tour. They were also two of 400 guests invited to the Reagans' 30th wedding anniversary party in 1982.

Mary and Allan have been on 11 cruises through the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Allan has four children from a previous marriage: Betty Jo of Las Vegas, Carolyn of Thousand Oaks, Marleen of Calabasas and Gary, of Sherman Oaks. Allan and Mary have one child, Shelley, of Tarzana. They also have 15 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.

MARRIED 55 YEARS: ANN AND GORDON JOHNSTON

Ann and Gordon Johnston of Northridge celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary together at home on Feb. 10.

They met in Indianapolis and after a few months of dating, were married there on Feb. 10, 1950.

Ann worked as a homemaker and also as a caregiver for her mother.

Gordon grew up in Fullerton, Calif., and served in the U.S. Navy for six years before and during World War II. After they were married, he and Ann stayed in Indianapolis for 11 years before moving to Santa Maria, Calif., in 1961. Gordon worked on the Atlas missile program at Vandenberg Air Force Base for General Dynamics Astronautics. The family moved to Northridge in 1969 when Gordon began working as a real estate broker, working for the California Association of Realtors until retiring in 1992 as vice president of administrative and meeting services.

The Johnstons have attended Reseda First Baptist Church, now known as the Heart of the Valley Community Church, since they moved to Northridge, and are members of the Galilean Bible class there.

They have three children: Gene of Tarzana, Mark of Newhall and James of Temecula. They also have 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

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(1) no caption (Berniece and James Wilson)

(2) no caption (Mary and Allan Arnold)

(3 -- 4) no caption (Ann and Gordon Johnston)