Marriage

By Forrest Adams

Marlene and Bob Maeser’s 50th wedding anniversary and renewal of wedding vows in February left the couple feeling something more than pure luck was in play.

The same pastor, Dennis Nyberg, 91 in May, who married them in South Minneapolis 50 years ago, was on hand for their anniversary celebration in the Chanhassen church, Discovery United Methodist, where the pastor is Tom Biatek, the same man Nyberg helped inspire into a life of ministry when Nyberg was Biatek’s pastor in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1980s.

The Maesers joined Discovery United after retiring to Victoria in 2001. Biatek came to the church several years later after serving congregations in Iowa and Minneapolis. Nyberg, who was born and raised in Minneapolis, retired to Minnetonka roughly 20 years ago and has continued to preach at church’s around the area.

Nyberg said he was more than happy to participate in the Maeser’s anniversary celebration.

“I’ve preached in over 200 churches in New England and the Midwest and California. It’s always very gratifying to be involved in an event that is so important to the participants,” he said.  

Bob was 12 years old when he first met Pastor Dennis Nyberg at Lake Harriet Methodist Church in South Minneapolis.

“Our family was un-churched,” he said. “All my friends went to church. I didn’t. I thought something must be wrong, so I decided to try the different churches. I ended up going to Lake Harriet.”

He asked to be baptized and was eventually confirmed by Nyberg.

Love story

Bob, 18, spent a year studying electronics at Dunwoody in Minneapolis before he met Marlene.

The youngest of 12, she was 18 years old and wanted to leave the family farm in Rutland, N.D., for work in either Minneapolis or Fargo. She had siblings in both cities, flipped a coin and decided to come to Minneapolis.

Five months later, in January or February of 1959, she and her roommate bought new outfits in downtown and wore them to the Marigold Ballroom. She said they had never been there prior to that.

It was Bob’s favorite haunt.

“I used to love going down to watch the Big Band, people who were real good at the lindy,” he said.

“I saw him and two of his friends sitting across the room,” said Marlene. “Pretty soon they started walking over to us.”

“She swept me away,” said Bob.

“We proceeded to drink coffee pert near all night,” Marlene laughed. “It was an interesting time.”

“I fell in love that night,” said Bob.

 One year later he was drafted into the Air Force, and they were married one Saturday in Lake Harriet Methodist Church by Pastor Nyberg when Bob was home on leave.

“Having his Air Force uniform to wear took care of him having to get a suit,” Marlene joked.

‘God and the rain’

Bob spent most of his professional life in high-tech electronics. He always wore a tie and vowed after he retired to never wear one again. For his 50th anniversary celebration, he made an exception. All three children were there and all seven grandchildren. It was the first time in several years they’d all been together in one place.

Two of the Bob and Marlene’s sons and their families live in Eagan and Chanhassen. Their daughter, Carrie, lives in a group home in Burnsville. She has multiple sclerosis, and her health took a turn for the worse just before the service. Her attendance was in doubt, but it was important to Bob and Marlene that she would be there.

A former guitar player, Bob, used to perform a song called “God and the Rain” that Carrie would sing. It was about a little girl’s birthday party. Years ago the two of them dreamed of performing it in church someday, but their dream went unfilled. Bob lost the calluses on his fingers. Carrie lost her voice. Prior to the 50th anniversary celebration, Bob found a video of “God and the Rain” that he planned to play for everyone during the service.

As fate would have it, Carrie’s health improved, and she attended. She participated in the program, saying the Lord’s Prayer, and Bob played the video.

“I told Carrie, ‘We finally got to do that song’,” Bob said quietly. “It was an emotional day.”

Readers can contact Forrest Adams at fadams@swpub.com.