LORETTO, CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Loretto house was built with love as its foundation.
“Her and I together, piece by piece, we put it together,” Michael Sheehan explained.
Michael and his wife, Grace Sheehan, sit together inside their home. They’re bonded by the simple touch of their hands and 70 years of marriage.
“Oh he always said 100,” Grace smiled.
The two met at a birthday party in Ebensburg. They were just 15, but Michael knew right then and there Grace was the one.
“I thought he was very cute,” Grace laughed. “I didn’t mind when he came over and sat beside me and we got acquainted.”
Life wouldn’t be the same without each other. That’s why at just 18 they said “I do.”
It was Thanksgiving day, November 24, 1949.
“Just because we thought we were just very grateful and that is what you think of when Thanksgiving rolls around,” Grace said.
They’ve shared a lifetime of memories together. A lifetime of happiness and a lifetime of hardships.
At just 37 Michael became an amputee. It happened while he was working in the coal mines.
“They put two sticks of dynamite two feet away from me,” Michael explained. “A blast went clear through me.”
Their love was put to the test.
“It was a struggle, but never once did I think we just couldn’t keep going and we would,” Grace said.
Their love is a kind of love that has no limits. It’s a kind of love that never goes away.
“I love her as much now as I did then,” Michael told us.
It has been 70 years and Michael and Grace Sheehan are still living in the house they designed. The couple has a foundation of love built to last.
Michael and Grace are planning to celebrate their anniversary with a dinner surrounded by family.