South Huntingdon couple celebrates 70 years of marriage

The decades-long love story of Thomas and Pauline Babyak started in the Jacobs Creek post office.

Pauline Babyak worked as a clerk there in the 1940s. Thomas Babyak, then recovering from surgery, worked as a truck driver for a dry cleaner.

“He would come around every week,” Pauline Babyak said.

They went to the movies on their first date, and their life together turned into a love story fit for the big screen. The Babyaks, both “90 and a half,” celebrated 70 years of marriage on Sept. 10.

They’ve lived in the same house in South Huntingdon, near Ruffs Dale, for nearly all seven decades, raising their seven children there.

The Babyaks were married Sept. 10, 1949, at the former St. Timothy’s Church in Smithton. She stayed home to take care of the children while he eventually opened Tom & Sons Repair next door to their home.

“We’ve been fortunate and blessed, both in life and marriage,” Tom said.

The Babyaks celebrated their anniversary with a family party and two blessings during Mass at Seven Dolors Church in Yukon and St. John the Baptist’s Church in Perryopolis. They have 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Pauline advised young lovebirds to “take very good care of each other.”

“Don’t give up, stick to it, keep your faith, whatever it is,” she said.