Childhood sweethearts, both 99, celebrated 80 years married

Betty and Kermit Eastman, both 99, celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary on June 6, 2026, at Talamore Senior Living in St. Cloud, Minnesota. They were childhood sweethearts in Thief River Falls, where Betty's family moved in across the street during her sophomore year of high school. Kermit noticed her right away. "I remember one time her dad said to her, 'I wonder what that Eastman boy is doing walking up and down the sidewalk,'" he told WCCO CBS News. Betty had noticed him too, and his early lawn-mowing business. Kermit left school to join the Navy during World War II, serving aboard the U.S.S. Mullaney when a kamikaze pilot struck it. They wrote letters through two years apart, married in a small ceremony when he returned, then finished high school as newlyweds. An 80th anniversary is called the Oak Anniversary. WCCO reports only one American couple reaches it each year. "I've loved her since I met her," Kermit said.