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Lovers' leap: 60 years, 15 anniversaries, three sons
and one leap baby later, these two are still falling
for each other
By Leslie Slape
Feb 28, 2004 - 11:37:46 pm PST
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If John and Nita Moses had wanted to be
literal, they would have waited 240 years to celebrate
their 60th anniversary.
They'd have insisted that their daughter, Marilee, wait
until 2160 to celebrate her 52nd birthday.
But they decided it would be a lot more fun to have a
party today. The Kalama couple's 60th
anniversary -- or 15th, for those sticklers who say that
only the actual appearances of Feb. 29
should count -- coincides with the 52nd birthday of
their daughter, Marilee Sinclair. It's also her
13th, since she was born on Leap Day in 1952.
"Me being 13, I'm younger than all my kids,"
said Sinclair, whose offspring are 28, 25 and 20.
Sinclair said she gets a lot of fun out of being a
Leaper. When she turned 40, her husband, Rich,
threw her a surprise party. She said she expected to see
lots of black -- "an over-the-hill" theme.
Instead, people brought presents for someone turning 10
years old, such as training bras and candy.
Looking at it from another angle, Nita said she was a
bit disappointed for the baby's sake when
their Leapling was born. She said her reaction was,
"Oh, darn."
"I didn't think 'Oh, she's born on our anniversary,
how great,' " Nita said. "I thought if she'd
waited
15 more minutes she would have had a birthday every
year."
The doctor who delivered Marilee then remarked, "My
wife was born on Leap Day," Nita said.
Sixty years ago, John and Nita weren't thinking about
the significance -- or the teasing -- of marrying
on Leap Day. They were simply ready to get married and
Leap Day was the first day of John's leave
from the Navy Seabees.
"He only had a week," Nita said. "It just
happened to be that day."
They met in 1941, when John was about 20 and Nita was
16. John, the youngest of eight children,
had gone to college on a basketball scholarship but
returned home when his father, who owned a
clothing store in Castle Rock, died suddenly.
"I was the only one who knew how to take care of
the store we had," John said. "That was the
end
of my college."
He and Nina later owned and operated the Kalama Shopping
Center. If he had stayed in college he
thinks he might have become a teacher and coach like his
brother Joe.
"We might not have gotten married," John said.
Nina replied, "We wouldn't even have met."
They were both bashful at first, but each knew there was
something special about the other.
"I saw how good he was to his mother," Nina
said. "I knew he'd be good to me, too."
"You were the same way," John said.
Besides Marilee, John and Nina raised three sons, Mick,
Jeff and Jerry, none of whom were born
on Leap Day.
John and Nita said that while Marilee was growing up,
they let her be the star of the day and "kind
of forgot" their anniversary.
Marilee said that on non-Leap Years, she got to choose
which day to celebrate, Feb. 28 or March 1.
"When I got a little older I said heck with that,
I'll take both days!" she said.
She met her husband-to-be on Feb. 28 in a non-Leap Year.
The second question he asked, after her
name, was "How old are you?"
"I said, '18 or 19,' " Marilee recalled.
"He looked at me funny and said, 'When's your
birthday?' I said,
'Today or tomorrow.' "
But she's not the star today. Her parents are taking
center stage, and most of the Moses clan, which
includes 12 grandchildren, will be with them at the
Kelso-Longview Elks to celebrate.
And what's the secret of staying happily married for 60
years?
John grinned and snuggled up to Nita.
"What's our success? I know what my success is: I
let you make all the decisions," he said.
"I don't know about that entirely," Nita
responded, smiling.
Help them celebrate
A party in honor of John and Nita Moses will be held
from 2 to 5 p.m. today at the Kelso-Longview
Elks Lodge, 900 Ash St., Kelso. No gifts are requested |
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