Around Alpharetta/Milton/Windward
"A marriage made in heaven!" that’s what Clara Earley says about her married life with husband Robert. The couple recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary on November 10. The first of two daughters, Clara was born in East Atlanta. Her father had a shoe repair business on the corner of Peachtree and Baker Streets and her mom was a stay-at-home mom. Clara graduated from Girls High School and went to work for her dad. "I didn’t meet Robert until I was 30 years old," she said. "I was having too much fun to even think about marriage." That however, stopped the night Robert called for their first date. "It was a blind date on the Tuesday after Labor Day," Clara said. It was love at first sight for the couple; they were married just weeks later at the Peachtree Christian Church in Atlanta. Clara says about the love of her life, "He has always been a hard worker and had several careers during our marriage." Robert opened the first drive-in restaurant in Roswell, Bob’s Bar-be-que; he also owned the Amoco station beside it and on Wednesdays, he would go door-to-door selling carpet and other pricey materials from Dalton. Robert also was an elevator operator at the Fulton County Courthouse. Since he only had a 4th grade education, he began to self-teach himself by reading all types of books. When the lawyers learned of his desire to someday earn his GED, they started bringing him all types of books to read while operating the elevator. He received his GED and went on to pass the Civil Service exam and years later retired as clerk in the Superior Court. Clara and Robert have two children, Carol and Robert W. Jr., two grandsons Derek and Jason, and two great-grandchildren Ellisa and Creyden. They have lived in Roswell for more than 50 years attending First Baptist Church Roswell and later Willeo Baptist in Roswell. Clara sang alto in the choir and was one of the pianists. The couple loved to square dance and spent many hours on the hardwood floors swinging each other around. Congratulations to Our Honorable Mention Couples: Betty and Jack Demps Dorcas McClesky and Ralph Everett Thompson A very special "Thank You" to Nature’s Bella Fleur European Florist, for generously donating the beautiful long-stemmed roses and vase for our Tournament of Roses couple. Nature’s Bella Fleur, a family owned and operated florist, has been proudly serving Alpharetta since 1982 and is located at 10955 Jones Bridge Road, Ste. 113. You may contact Nature’s Bella Fleur at (678) 549-0504 or 1-800-688-6971 or visit www.mygeorgiaflorist.com.
Married on November 22, 1948
Married on April 26, 1947