Norman Ott, 90, and his wife, Nancy, 89, have been married for 67 years and currently reside at Vicinia Gardens Independent Living in Fenton.
Their families moved to Royal Oak in the mid-1940s and lived about three blocks apart. Norm and Nancy were preteens at the time. Other than casual “hi’s,” they did not formally meet until one day when their mothers, while having a conversation on the sidewalk, introduced them. This led to Nancy becoming a babysitter for Norm’s younger sisters.
They went their separate ways until their mid-teens, when they started spending time with the same group of kids in a church youth group. However, they were still not an item.
When Norm turned 16, his mother planned a surprise birthday party for him. He had worked all day at a neighborhood store and was not feeling well when his dad asked him to carry something down to the basement, which was full of kids. “Surprise!”
The next morning, he came down with the measles. The only person to catch the measles was Nancy. An omen of the future? Perhaps a foregone conclusion?
They continued as good friends through high school. It wasn’t until 1957 that they started dating. Prior to that, they had double-dated a few times with other dates. Once, Norm fixed Nancy up on a blind date with a fraternity brother who later served as the best man in their wedding.
Tell us about the proposal.
Our decision to get married did not include a formal, kneel-down proposal, but rather a discussion at a drive-in movie. “Let’s get married.”
Shortly afterward, we committed to each other when Norm pinned Nancy with the Theta Tau Fraternity Sister Pin.
Tell us about your wedding.
We were married on Jan. 24, 1959, at the First Congregational Church in Royal Oak. That day, Detroit was hit with 14 inches of snow. After a reception in the church parlor, Norm and his groomsmen spent the next hour helping guests dig their cars out of the parking lot.
Following an in-home reception, we headed through the snow to our honeymoon in Chicago, filled with dreams of the future.
Tell us about your marriage.
We spent our first year of marriage living in Ferndale, with Norm finishing school at Wayne and Nancy working at GM and supporting Norm. In early 1960, we moved to Midland, where Norm started his career at Dow Chemical, and we started a family. We remained there for 63 years, except for four years when we lived in São Paulo, Brazil.
It was in São Paulo that Nancy really showed her strength, adjusting to a new culture while Norm worked. She was, and still is, the real rock of our family.
What do you cherish about each other?
Looking back, we cherish the love, understanding, acceptance, patience, and respect we have for each other. We are truly blessed by these 67 years together and by the loving family we now have, which includes three children, nine grandchildren, and, at last count, 11 great-grandchildren.
