LONGEVITY MARRIED 65 YEARS: MARIO AND FLORENCE DE MATTEO.

Byline: Simone Schramm Trimm

Mario and Florence De Matteo of Woodland Hills celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary with family and close friends on May 20 at their daughter's home. They were married on May 18, 1945, at St. Lucy Church in the Bronx, N.Y.

They met at Mario's family's restaurant, where Florence worked as a cashier on weekends. She was 16, and Mario was 17. They dated for four years before getting married.

Mario graduated from De Witt Clinton High School in New York. In 1943, he was drafted into the Army and became a cavalry soldier working with horses. He served in China, Burma and India, where he served as an infantry soldier fighting the Japanese.

At that time, he became ill with scrub typhus, a type of tropical disease, and was sent to a field hospital. Following emergency treatment, he was sent to a hospital in Bombay, India, where he spend a considerable amount of time. Following that, he was sent back to the United States for further treatment and recuperation in Massachusetts and then was discharged from the Army in 1945.

When he recovered, he pursued his education under the G.I. Bill, attending business college and working once again for the family business. In 1958, he was offered a better job in Phoenix, working in the beverage business, eventually transferring to Woodland Hills. He retired in 1989.

Florence graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in New York and became a housewife upon marriage. She was president of several organizations, including the Mothers Club at their Catholic church in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the president of the San Fernando Valley Spastic Children's League.

They have traveled around the U.S., and also have been to Europe and South America. They also love to play golf and poker.

They have five children: Anthony De Matteo of Carlsbad, Maria Nordquist of La Quinta, Joanie Bempsey, Elena VeMattos, both of Westlake Village, and Albert De Matteo of Newbury Park. They have 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

MARRIED 60 YEARS: HAROLD AND VIRGINIA CONSTANTINE 

Harold and Virginia Constantine of Sylmar celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with their family on June 3, at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena. They were married on June 4, 1946, in Fort Chaffee, Ark.

They met at a U.S.O. dance while Harold was stationed with the Army at Fort Chaffee. They dated for several months before Harold went home to be discharged. They married four days after her high school graduation.

Harold grew up in Canandaigua, N.Y. He graduated from Edison Technical High School in Rochester. He served in the Army in Europe in the 2nd Infantry, 9th Regiment, and worked for the V.A. hospital in Canandaigua for five years before transferring to the Sawtelle V.A. Hospital in Los Angeles.

In 1950, they moved to Sylmar when Harold left the hospital and worked for Lockheed for 32 years before retiring in 1984. He is a member of the San Fernando Elks Lodge No. 1539, the Kiwanis Club of San Fernando and the American Legion Aircraft Post No. 58.

Virginia grew up in Mulberry, Ark., and graduated from high school in Fort Smith, Ark. After moving to the San Fernando Valley, she worked for General Telephone in San Fernando. Already a beautician, she later worked in the beauty salon for Broadway department stores. A few years later, she opened her own beauty shop in Panorama City before selling it and going back to Broadway as a manager in its Century City salon. She retired after the 1971 earthquake. She is past present of the Sylmar Women's Club and a member of the San Fernando Emblem Club No. 37.

They both love to travel and have driven to many parts of the United States, all by car.

They have one child: Margie Wilson of Newbury Park.

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(1) no caption (Mario and Florence De Matteo)

(2 -- 3) no caption (Harold and Virginia Constantine)