Family Council Recognizes Arkansas’ Ten Longest Married Couples

Above: Cleovis and Arwilda Whiteside attended Family Council’s 2018 Longest-Married Couple reception at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock.

LITTLE ROCK, AR – Cleovis and Arwilda Whiteside of Whitehall, Arkansas have been recognized as Arkansas’ Longest Married Couple. Married 82 years, they met at church and were married on July 24, 1939, in Clarendon, Arkansas. Cleovis, age 100, was 17, and Arwilda, age 96, was 13 when they married.

Family Council, a pro-family organization located in Little Rock, recognizes Arkansas’ Longest Married Couple each year. This marks the second time the Whitesides have been recognized as Arkansas’ Longest Married Couple. Family Council Executive Director Jerry Cox said, “Mr. & Mrs. Whiteside are a shining example to us all. They made a marriage covenant with one another almost 83 years ago, and, by the grace of God, they kept it.”

Their story begins when Arwilda and her friend Caroline were walking home from school and some boys began to chase them. Caroline told Arwilda to run to Cleovis, because he would protect them. He did, and he made the boys leave Arwilda and Caroline alone. Years later, while attending a church box supper, Cleovis bought Arwilda’s box supper for twenty-five cents that she had prepared for the event. Caroline then commented that “one day Cleovis will be your husband.” And so, on July 24, 1939, Cleovis and Arwilda Whiteside were married. It rained so hard on that day that only his parents, her family, his best friend Detroit, and the minister who trudged through the rain with his horse and buggy, were able to attend. The minister arrived at 11:00 that night to finally marry them at 11:30 just before midnight. The Whitesides have kept their marriage covenant ever since.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson recognized the couple’s milestone with a special letter. The couple will be honored in a ceremony at their church in White Hall, Arkansas, on April 24 where they will receive the Governor’s framed letter, an engraved silver platter, a Bible, flowers, and other gifts.

In addition to the Whitesides, Family Council released the names of Arkansas’ remaining top ten longest married couples.

  • Thell and Margie Ellison of Natural Dam
  • Everett and Ina Dell Wilson of Mabelvale
  • Wesley and Bernice Robertson of Camden
  • Charles and Ivalee Whedbee of Dayton
  • Allein and Jean Beall of Little Rock
  • George & Mary Catherine Martin of North Little Rock
  • Orin Ray & Imma Jean Robinson of Sherwood
  • Cecil and Eleanor Simonton of Rogers
  • Frank & Mary Lou Osbourne of Searcy

Anyone interested in adding a couple to Family Council’s Arkansas’ Longest Married Couple registry should contact Family Council in Little Rock.

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U.S. Leads World in Single-Parent Households

According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Almost a quarter of U.S. children under 18 live with one parent. 

Of course, there are many heroic single parents courageously committed to raising their children. Still, decades of research show how costly it is for so many. Children of unmarried parents, on average, do worse in school, have poorer emotional and physical health, are more likely to commit crimes, and are more likely to have children out of wedlock themselves. 

The sexual revolution decoupled sex from marriage while insisting “the kids will be fine.” Well, they’re not.  

Christians must speak into this issue with truth and love, especially  in a society that fosters adults to seek happiness at the expense of kids. Redefining and reinventing family structures, parenting, and marriage are having horrible consequences. 

On Tuesday, March 15, we are partnering with Focus on the Family to address this topic. Katy Faust of Them Before Us will teach how Christians can stand for the rights of children. Register for the live stream at colsoncenter.org/events.

Copyright 2024 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

Marry Early, but Don’t Live Together First

New data is poking holes in what’s become a prominent cultural myth. “When it comes to divorce,” write Brad Wilcox and Lyman Stone in The Wall Street Journal, “the research has generally backed up the belief that it’s best to wait until around 30 to tie the knot.” This is because the divorce rate is generally lower for those who wait to wed.  

However, according to the National Survey of Family Growth, there’s an interesting exception to this modern-day rule of thumb. Couples in their 20s who don’t cohabitate first have some of the lowest divorce rates of any group. Though it’s not exactly clear, from the research anyway, as to why this is the case. This particular cohort is disproportionately religious, something that is linked to lower divorce rates across the board. Even so, the data sheds further light on the relationship between cohabitation and marriage in American society.  

Decades of studies have led sociologists to broadly conclude that cohabitation leads to higher rates of divorce. In general, living with a partner, even one that eventually becomes a spouse, is associated with a 15% higher chance of splitting up. One Stanford study indicates that the rate is twice as high for those who cohabitate with someone other than their future spouse.  

“We generally think that having more experience is better….” says University of Denver psychologist Galena Rhoades, “but what we find for relationships is just the opposite.” More partners mean more comparison, she argues, which can make it harder to achieve long-term contentment. Cohabitation also teaches couples that one can always head for the exit when problems seem too daunting, instead of to press in and stick it out.  As a result, while marriages in general are more stable at 30, marriage to one partner is better, even if at a younger age.  

Still, despite a significant amount of data that says otherwise, society pushes a very different story about living together. People in their 20s, says convention, should avoid commitment, establish themselves professionally, and certainly try living together before tying the knot. For a generation raised in divorced homes, skepticism toward marriage is understandable … as is the desire to “try it before you buy it.” After all, this is the same generation who never has to pick a restaurant before checking its rating on Yelp.  

And so here we are, in a culture where both delayed marriage and cohabitation are “normal,” but relational satisfaction is rare. 

Married couples report more satisfaction across the board than cohabiting couples, in all kinds of areas, and report more trust by double digits. Even couples who’ve had to persevere in marriage through difficult seasons report higher levels of satisfaction. Marriage is also broadly connected with better health and wellbeing, not to mention the wellbeing of children, 40% of whom today are born out of wedlock.   

Though the data about marriage is overwhelming, fewer and fewer are choosing it. Compared to only 9% of Americans in 1970, more than a third of adults today (35%) will never tie the knot. That’s not to say they won’t have romantic relationships and create children. They will simply opt out of marriage.  

Given the relevant data, the idea that one should not get married “too early” emphasizes the wrong factors. Wisdom should always be exercised with commitments this big, but at the same time, age matters far less than the commitment itself.  Limitless sexual experience, self-actualization, and the freedom to leave don’t actually produce relational happiness in the long term. In fact, they damage it.  

In short, as a project of self-fulfillment, marriage might be worthless. As a way to reap the rewards of self-sacrifice, its value is incalculable.  

Christians know why. Marriage is a part of the created order. Though some marriages will tragically end for various reasons and others may want marriage but struggle to find it, the Church can provide vital community for all of its members, while still promoting marriage for the God-given good that it is. And when marriages hit rocky ground, resources like Focus on the Family’s Hope Restored conferences, are available for those willing to fight for reconciliation … with incredible stories of success. 

Ultimately, though, a successful marriage requires the same thing as Christianity, a commitment to something bigger than ourselves.

Copyright 2022 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.