On Feb. 12, 1955, DeRoy and Rosemary Avila spent their first night as husband and wife at the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino, California.
On Sunday, the Avilas celebrated their upcoming 60th anniversary at the place where it started — the Route 66 landmark that’s changed little over the decades, reported the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
The couple have six children, 28 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and are expecting their first great, great-grandchild.
DeRoy, now retired from his own construction company, is originally from Gallup, New Mexico, where he shined shoes along Route 66.
He moved to Fontana, also along Route 66, so having his wedding night at a location he had driven past a million times on Route 66 only seemed fitting.
“This is so special,” their daughter, Teresa Avila Lopez of Colton, 53, said, “not just because it is their anniversary but because of the city’s history.”
The couple was married Our Lady of Guadalupe, also in San Bernardino. Like the Wigwam, the church also is still standing.
On Sunday, the newspaper reported the couple held hands and sneaked kisses to each other as they and family members marked the anniversary with a cake.
The Wigwam Motel was built in 1949, so it was only a few years old when the newlyweds spent their first night there. The motel went through some hard times after the interstate bypassed Route 66. But the Patel family has restored the landmark to its former glory.
Kumar Patel, who manages the motel, told me he allowed the Avilas the use of the facility for free Sunday.
(Image of the Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino by Chuck Coker via Flickr)