The September Thanksgiving Point Gazette maintains the north Lehi resort is the "unofficial home of matrimonial and marital bliss" for the month.

The rest of the year, Charles "Chuck" and Mary Middleton of Lehi may lay claim to a large portion of that marital bliss. They have been married for 64 years.

"It's been beautiful," Chuck Middleton said. "I can't understand why people would struggle. If you love them, show it."

Sept. 19 is Lehi Community Council's Celebration of Marriage Day with a "Rekindle the Flame" theme. Those interested in participating in two workshops, having a buffet dinner, enjoying entertainment, and listening to Richard Paul Evans and Dr. Randy Chatelain as keynote speakers can register for the event at www.lehi-ut.gov/communitycouncil.

For those who haven't tied the knot yet, there is also the Wedding Expo Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 with fashion shows, access to wedding experts, how-to clinics. Registered brides get in free for this event.

The Middletons may be enjoying a relaxing evening at home instead of attending either function. Both 88 years old, they are still sweethearts.

"Oh my word, he's a perfect husband, perfect in every way," Mary Middleton said. "I have to tell him every day he is so good, so helpful, so caring."

She said she has never heard one bad word from her spouse.

A native of Argentina, she met Chuck Middleton while he was serving his 2-year LDS mission and she was a local LDS missionary with the same responsibilities stake or ward missionaries have today.

After Elder Middleton returned home, the couple exchanged letters for 8 months. They met again on Nov. 30,1943, and married the next day.

With a relationship begun in missionary work, it seemed a natural fit for the Middletons to go on an LDS mission together. So they did, serving in the Bolivia Mission in 1980.

Chuck credits his wife with a lot of their success in the mission field.

"It's a very poor country, but all the women knew how to knit," he said. "Several people, they made a living out of making different things for people."

Mary began teaching the women how to make different patterns in what she called "crochenit." They made afghans, sweaters, scarves and toys.

"She would have as many people as 20-50 in a class at one time," he said. "We don't know how many were baptized because of it."

What began as a hobby and later a business has been passed on to her granddaughter, Cathy Wilson in Texas. Mary's story about inventing crochenit can be found at crochenit.com/the_crochenit_story.htm.

"She would wake up in the middle of the night with an idea, write it down, then go back to sleep." Chuck said of Mary's ideas for crochenit patterns.

While his wife was working on crochenit, Chuck was working for Pacific Telephone. It was a job that moved him to five different countries, the last being Saudi Arabia. Retired from Pacific Tel, he is not retiring.

The Middletons are still active, going everyday at 10 a.m. to walk at the Lehi Legacy Center. Chuck also is a volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program. As a substitute driver, he delivers warm meals to shut-ins in Lehi.

Mary goes with him. His volunteer work is part of their life together nowadays.

"My wife has Alzheimer's. It's a complete change of life," he said. "She gets disoriented, but most of the time she's in pretty good shape.

Mary started showing symptoms of the disease about 4 years ago.

"She's OK in the Temple, but sometimes she might go in the locker room and stay there quite a while," he said. One time, Mary got turned around in the women's locker room at the Legacy Center and ended up in the aquatic facility instead of the main hallway.

"One of the ladies was nice enough to ask her where she was going and helped her find her way out," he said.