When William Henry met Leah at Franklin Junior HS in Bethlehem, he knew he didn’t want to let her get away. He was persistent, but he faced a challenge.

“She didn’t want anything to do with me,” Henry recalls. “When I came to mow the lawn for her father, I came in the front door and she went out the back.

“It was a long process,” according to Henry, who admits to following Leah and her boyfriend home from football games. One day he got his chance to gain her favor when he told off someone in the football stadium who had insulted her. Not long after that, she started dating him. Their first date – Dorney Park.

Henry’s persistence paid off and the couple was married at the Edgeboro Moravian Church on Hamilton Street in Bethlehem July 30 – 60 years ago – shortly after high school graduation.

Leah explains her change of heart: “He was always there. If I needed something he was there. He even loaned me his convertible.”

“We married early on purpose,” Henry explains, “because we both came from families where our parents were older and weren’t able do much together with us. We wanted to have our children early so we would be able to do things with them.”

They got their wish, raising five daughters who have provided them with 18 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.

To celebrate the Henrys’ 60 years together, nearly 70 of their offspring and friends gathered for a day-long celebration at the family home in Bethlehem. There was food, swimming and a large decorated cake marking the anniversary. It was also an opportunity to reminisce about accomplishments of the past.

During the past decades, to support his family, Henry worked as an automotive instructor and coordinator of the Bethlehem Area Vocational Technical School. In 1977, he was named Teacher of the Year, and in 1989 Educator of the Year. He retired from the school after 34 years, and became director at ABC Technical Training Center in Harleysville, Pa. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter named its Kulpsville, Pa., facility the William L Henry Technical Training Center.

Henry still works part time as director of apprenticeship training at the Hayden Electrical in Hazelton. He also is a chaplin for The Moravian House for low-income senior citizens, and still teaches Sunday school at the Edgeboro Moravian Church where he and Leah were married.

His bride was a teacher assistant in the Bethlehem Area School District for 10 years, and a manager for Sarah Coventry. She has been a realtor since 1983, and is still working part time for Weichert Realtors.

Despite their work and church commitments, the Henrys say they have always had time to spend with their children.

“We still do a lot with our kids,” Henry says. More trips in their Winnebago are planned.

“A friend of mine told me that he thought when your kids get married you are done.” Henry says he contradicted his friend, and Henry should know: “It’s never over. It’s a lifetime thing.”