In an age when Americans are waiting until they’re older to get married, choosing not to marry at all or divorcing at alarming rates, Bernard and Jane Paumier defy all of those trends.
The Paumiers, who attended the Jubilee of Anniversaries Mass on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, reached a rare milestone earlier this year when they celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.
They were one of 212 couples representing 58 parishes recognized this year at the annual Mass, celebrated this year by Bishop Earl Fernandes, honoring marriages of 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 years or longer in the diocese.
Seventy-five years of marriage represents three quarters of a century and it is indeed a rarity to be together that long. Population experts estimate that there are only about 1,000 couples in America married 75 years or longer.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only one-tenth of 1 percent of marriages reach 70 years. Two other Jubilarian couples, Richard and Kathleen Baumann of Columbus Our Lady of Victory Church, and James and Rita Marsinek of Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church, were honored for 71 and 70 years of marriage, respectively.
There were 51 registered couples celebrating 60 or more years of marriage, 16 couples recognized for their 55th anniversary and 46 who have been married 50 years.
The Paumiers, who were profiled in a 2021 article in The Catholic Times, were sitting near the front of the Cathedral during the Jubilee Mass with their oldest son, Daniel. They were one of a number of couples who joined Bishop Fernandes for a photo after the Mass.
Asked how the presence of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary have contributed to their marriage and family all these years, Mr. Paumier, 96, known as Bernie, responded, “Well, it’s been with us for 75 years, so we’ve never turned Him down. And any time we really had problems we went to Him.
“We lost an infant son while I was stationed overseas (in the military) — over a thousand miles from home at the time and I wasn’t able to return. So my wife had to take care of everything without the help of family. It was very traumatic. But because she turned to Jesus and His Blessed Mother, she was able to make it through this difficult time without me there.”
The Paumiers, originally from the Canton area, met in New Mexico while he served in the Air Force and she was employed as a nurse. The couple married in 1949 and had six children (three are still living).
They moved to the Columbus area in 1959 when he was transferred to Lockbourne (now Rickenbacker) Air Force Base. In 1962, they bought a farm near Baltimore in northern Fairfield County and have lived there ever since. He retired from the military in 1967 and then became a teacher and a farmer.
The couple have lived active faith lives and continue to do so.
Mrs. Paumier, 97, said they regularly go to Eucharistic Adoration.
“It’s the center of our lives,” she said. “And the Blessed Mother is very dear to our hearts.”
Bishop Fernandes congratulated all of the couples in attendance at the Mass and those who could not be there.
“To give personal witness to Jesus, this is incumbent upon every Christian,” he said in his homily. “That is why we are here today, to give thanks to God for these married couples who have given personal witness to Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, who laid down His life for His Bride, which is the Church. When you entered into the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, this is what you were committing yourself to, whether you realized it or not.”
The bishop explained that the Church understands marriage to be a “covenantal union between and a man and a woman that is a deep sharing of the whole lot of life and love together, that is ordered toward the good, and espouses the procreation and education of children. …
“And once the marriage is consummated, no earthly power can dissolve that marriage. A permanent sacramental bond is formed,” he continued.
“Many of you here today, it’s incredible how you have given faithful witness to Christ and His Church. Young people today sometimes have a fear of making a commitment. They don’t want to go through the pain of divorce. They wonder, can love last? And you are living witnesses that love does endure, that love never fails.”