Couple celebrating 75 years

GRADY — A 75-year marriage could be considered a tremendous achievement by today’s standards. But for Jim and Margie Woods of Grady, they couldn’t imagine things any other way.

This Friday the two New Mexico natives celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary after marrying in 1944. Their family will be holding an open house in their honor at Allen Hall in Grady from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. with cake and ice cream to celebrate.

With Jim at 95 and Margie at 93, the couple don’t have many of their old friends left, but they hope some people they know and some of their nearby family members will be able to make it.

“When we first got married there were people who lived on just about every half section of land,” Margie said. “These days there’s not a whole lot of people around us anymore.”

Margie doesn’t really know what to tell people when they ask what the secret to a long marriage like hers is, but she remembers she and Jim met at a young age when they attended the same church together.

“I don’t think we ever considered not being married,” Margie said. “A year after Jim came back from the Army we had our first son and 18 months later we had our second. Those were the only two we ever had, but I’m so thankful God gave me those boys.”

The Woods have two children, Mike and Pat Woods, the latter a New Mexico Republican state senator.

As for grandchildren, they have eight — seven boys and one girl. The final number for their great grandchildren isn’t settled yet, but there are currently five boys and four girls.

The Woods married young, but after only two months, Jim was drafted and sent to fight in the Pacific during World War II. After two years Jim returned and purchased an old farm with the help of his father. The Woods have since lived most of their lives on their ranch near Grady.

The couple lived in a run-down house for a few years, but later rented a house on a separate plot of land until they could afford to build a place of their own in the 1950s.

The Woods’ boys helped out on the farm growing up and both went on to attend college.

Pat Woods remembers growing wheat and raising livestock throughout his life.

“During the summer it seemed like we were on a tractor all the time. We plowed fields and this was long before there was any chemical farming,” Pat said. “I remember my dad and how we’d run the tractors so long we had to change the oil once a week in them.”

The Woods have continued that lifestyle to this day, staying in the home they built together nearly 70 years ago through thick and thin. These days the ranch mostly grows hay and raises cattle, occasionally growing a wheat crop on good years.

Life on the ranch can be difficult at times. Jim had an accident not long ago while working on a fence, breaking his arm and spending three weeks in the hospital. The Woods lived in town for awhile after that.

“Pat thought maybe we should stay (in town), but we wanted to come home,” Margie said. “We’re living in the house we built and worked on since the 1950s. This is home and this is where we want to stay. We love it out here.”