Duranord and Jeanne Veillard were married in November of 1932. Their love of over 82 years speaks volumes in a society when the divorce rate is over 60%. The Veillards have five children, 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. They have been married for each president from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama. But how does a married couple not only stay married, but stay alive for so long…together?
Well, for starters, Duranord religiously starts each and every day with push-ups, a cup of tea, oatmeal and fresh fruit. He also eats fish and fresh vegetable for lunch and dinner and takes multiple naps each day.
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On Saturday, March 7th Duranord will celebrate his 108th birthday, while his wife will turn 105 in May.
To put it simply, Duranord said the secret for living a long and healthy life is God. “That’s God,” he says mildly when referencing his children, grandchildren and his long marriage to his wife.
“I found him in the streets,” said Jeanne, making everyone in the room laugh. Being married to someone for this long, Jeanne says you get to know their habits and some of their habits become habits of their own. They now both take naps early and often. A rule that they’ve lived by for years.
Duranord was born in 1907 to a fisherman in southern Haiti. He grew up in Port-au-Prince, where he studied law, and married Jeanne in November 1932.
In 1968, after Duranord lost his job, he and his wife moved to the United States after being awarded a visa to visit. He began work as a lab technician at the Good Samaritan Hospital, where he worked for ten years before retiring. Over time, each of their five children came to the United States after their parents.
Now, Duranord is nearly blind and is hard of hearing, but that doesn’t stop him from loudly cracking jokes in French Creole or from sharing his birthday cake with reporters. Neither he nor Jeanne leave the house except to visit the doctor, and both need assistance to walk, but they still enjoy life in every way possible.
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“He remembers everything,” said his 62-year-old son, Vely Veillard. “Look at him! He don’t want to use a cane. He’s a superstar.”
Both Duranord and Jeanne are already looking forward to the next milestone in their lives. “Thank you very much,” Veillard said to well-wishers. “Merci beaucoup.”
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