Fifty years ago on July 11, 1972, Jackie B. Fort married Janice Mitchell in the family room of her late parents, Thomas A. and Eudora L. Mitchell, in a small ceremony. Jackie is the son of the late Pastor Lennie and Odessa Fort, Guthrie, Ky.

The two meet in the school yard of Woodward Elementary School when they were 15 years old. The school is across the street from the Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church where both are active members.

The couple have three adult sons and seven grandchildren: Jack Jr. (Keisha) and grandchildren Jeremiah and Zechariah of Long Beach, Calif.; Christopher and grandchildren Alyse, Brenin and Channing of Winston Salem, N.C.; and Jeremiah and granddaughter Jieling, both of Taipei, Taiwan, and grandson Nicklaus Fox of Portsmouth, Ohio.

Jackie was the former owner of Fort’s Cleaning Service and retired from the Delaware Township Hall and Delaware J.V.S. Janice retired from the Ohio Department of Transportation, District 6, and also was an apartment manager for T. A. Mitchell Rentals.

The couple celebrated with their sons and their families with a weeklong vacation in Sarasota, Fla.