FOUR SISTERS MODEL LOVE THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY
If you have forgotten what old-fashioned romance looks like, you may want to take a look at the new movie, Old Fashioned. It’s not your typical pulp fiction fare; it’s romance at its old-fashioned best. As the movie’s promotional tagline states, “Love is patient, love is kind, love is old fashioned.”
But the movie has nothing up on a striking example of old-fashioned romance exhibited in the heart of Central Florida by four sisters who have enjoyed 217 combined years of married bliss.
The sisters, with their parents Charles and Cassie Eldridge, moved to Orlando in 1947. All four girls graduated from Orlando Junior Academy (then Orlando Church School) and Forest Lake Academy, Apopka. All four were married at Kress Memorial Church in Winter Park.
Barbara married Herb Klischies, a commercial artist. Charlotte married Howard Huenergardt, an orthopedic surgeon. Betty married Richard O’Ffill, an ordained minister. Carol married Jack Carey, an educator. Each couple went their separate ways, living as far apart as Thailand, Pakistan, Maryland, and California. In retirement, they found their way back home to Florida where it all started.
Family is very important to these close-knit sisters. Between them, they have 14 children, 33 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
This year, Barbara and Herb Klischies celebrate 59 years of marriage; Betty and Richard O’Ffill, 55 years; Charlotte and Howard Huenergardt, 53 years; and Carol and Jack Carey, 50 years, for a grand total of 217 years of old-fashioned romance and commitment not often seen. From all appearances, the knots that tied these sisters to their spouses are not about to unravel.