Jan. 3, 2018 – West Bend, WI – It was a big day Tuesday for Marsha and Bob Walz as the couple from Hartford celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. Dressed in matching McKid’s sweatshirts the pair recalled their special meeting spot and how, after all these years, McDonald’s still holds a big place in their hearts.
“I would visit my son in the morning at McDonald’s in Menomonee Falls where he worked,” said Marsha. “On April 5, 1987 I went to read the paper while I was at McDonald’s and I was looking for the sports.”
That moment… is when she met Bob.
“I asked him if he was through reading the sports section”…. and that’s how the conversation started.
Marsha had been divorced 17 years and was a single mom. Bob, was also divorced, and had custody of two teenage sons.
“I definitely wasn’t looking for that,” she said. “But within three weeks we knew we were meant for each other. He was the man i had been talking to in my dreams.”
The pair worked through some relationship requirements. Marsha was hard set on her significant other knowing how to dance. “But we liked the same music…. and there was baseball…,” she said.
On Jan. 2, 1988 the couple tied the knot and had their reception at the McDonald’s in Menomonee Falls. “It was basically our immediate family came to help us celebrate but we ended up taking over that McDonald’s that day; we even fried our own burgers,” she said.
The McKid’s sweatshirts were their wedding outfits. “I got them at Sears and I’ve kept them on ice for every 5-year anniversary celebration with Bob,” she said.
Marsha and Bob are both impressed that the white is still white. “And this yellow M has to be made of some sort of vinyl, don’t you think?” she said offering me a closer look at the fabric.
The past 30 years has been a test for the couple. Bob, who ran marathons and held a good job, fell ill and Marsha too suffered a physical ailment. The pair worked together through their difficulties but 30 years later Bob is now a resident at The Cottages at Cedar Community and Marsha visits regularly when the roads and weather make driving a bit easier.
“If it weren’t for our McDonald’s family it would have been very difficult to get through some of those moments,” Marsha said.
“All of those kids who work with McDonald’s are our kids,” she said. “They see our license plate and no matter where we go there’s always a McDonald’s.”
On March 29, 2017 Marsha had to place Bob in a nursing home. “It’s been very difficult and for the first two months I couldn’t even go into a McDonald’s because it had been such a big part of our lives. But those kids and everybody in our McDonald’s family helped me pull through… and that’s just a very cool thing.”
Bob and Marsha celebrated their 30th anniversary at The Cottages on Tuesday. They wore their traditional McKid’s sweatshirts and had a Ronald McDonald cake…. and they answered the question about what it takes to stay married and happy for 30 years.
Click the video below for their answer.
