With the annual Marriage Day celebrated June 10 in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley interviewed a couple from Stillwater who know a few things about that topic: Dr. Gary and Mary Williams, married for 52 years and parents of nine, including Bishop Joseph Williams and Father Peter Williams, pastor of St. Ambrose in Woodbury. The couple also have 30 grandchildren.
The couple vividly remember the day they met: Sept. 25, 1969, at a “welcome week dance” at the University of Minnesota. First asked to dance by her husband’s best friend, Mary realized she wanted to meet “this guy that’s smiling.”
“So we stood there for a minute and he (Gary) said, ‘Are you Catholic?’ That’s his first question to me. I said, ‘I am. Are you?’ And he said yes.” Then he asked if Mary was from a large family, which she is, the third-oldest of 11; Gary is the second-youngest of eight.
Gary asked Mary to dance and “that was it,” she said. “Our son John says the interview was pretty short, actually,” Gary said.
Keeping regular date nights “is kind of a big deal,” Gary said, which happened even when money was “a little scarce,” such as when they had three children during the time he was in medical school “and one during my internship year.” But the couple continued to spend an hour or two away from the children and were able to “talk to each other about what happened with each other’s week and any disagreements that we may have had,” or any questions, and the tradition continued. “It was a special night for us, and it still continues to be,” he said.
Asked how they keep Christ at the center of their marriage, Mary said the couple prays together at morning Mass each day and pray “all the mealtime prayers together.”
“We look for personal prayer time, and when the children were younger, we would make it a priority that we said bedtime prayers with them,” she said. “I think prayer obviously was the biggest component of our whole married life.”
And the couple made time to sit on the couch each evening, and “kind of tune out,” Mary said, “usually in the embrace of each other’s arms and share the day, both the joys and the frustrations … and the kids saw that.”
Mary said she is grateful for a husband who continues to remember her on anniversaries of their meeting, engagement, all special occasions “and he still brings me flowers and writes me beautiful notes in his cards,” she said.
This Saturday’s Archdiocesan Marriage Day will include Mass, renewal of vows and a brief reception. To learn more, visit archspm.org/events. Information includes a downloadable flyer and poster, available in English or Spanish.
During the interview with the Williamses, Conley asked the couple what Bishop Williams was like as a child. To hear their response and to hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. June 9 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. June 10 and 2 p.m. June 11.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with Sister Carolyn Puccio, who shares her story and a few memories from her 63 years of religious life, as she leaves her role as delegate for religious life for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; and Elizabeth Felsheim, a Catholic wedding planner, who describes her business and how she works to keep Christ at the center of what she says can be an incredibly stressful time.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
