La Plata, MD – For Marshall and Owna Sullivan of La Plata, Sept. 1 marked a special day. Seventy years ago, the couple was married.
Tuesday, Sept. 1, the Charles County Commissioners honored the couple with a special recognition for their achievement, presenting flowers, gifts and a document from the county.
Commissioner President Peter Murphy said he knew Marshall from way back.
“He fixed an electrical problem in my house when no one else could,” Murphy said.
Sullivan’s daughter, Linda Cox, said her father’s was the 13th electrical license ever issued in Charles County.
“He was a master electrician,” she noted. “Thirteen was always his lucky number.”
“I was born in Fredericksburg, VA,” Marshall said. “My parents moved to Indian Head when I was 2.”
Owna said she stayed near her home on Bumpy Oak Road in La Plata for most of her life.
“I haven’t gotten very far from Bumpy Oak Road,” she stated. “I spent three years in DC and five years in Indian Head. Other than that, I’ve been in La Plata all of my life.”
“We didn’t have modern conveniences,” Marshall recalled. “We eventually got air conditioning and a television.”
“They never have allowed us to get them on the Internet,” Cox laughed.
Owna said as a couple they never smoked or drank a day in their life, but they did like to go dancing.
“Every Saturday night, we were getting ready for a dance,” Owna said.
The couple liked to go to dances in Croom, or at businesses no longer operating in Charles County, places like the Crystal Door, Bernie Jarboe’s or Smitty’s Steak House and Restaurant.
Former Charles County Judge Ernest Loveless and his wife were good friends of the couple.
“Judge Loveless and I were in the same squadron in the Navy,” Marshall stated.
“His wife was my mother’s best friend,” Cox added.
The couple had four children: Ronald Sullivan, Marshall Sullivan Jr., Cox and Deborah Payne.
When asked how their marriage survived for 70 years, Marshall had a quick answer.
“Just say, ‘yes dear,’ ” he quipped.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
