Recognizing Arkansas' Longest Married Couple

Floor Speech

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, many people are familiar with the passage of scripture found in First Corinthians Chapter 13, verse 4, ``Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.'' However, fewer may remember verse 5 which states that love ``always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.'' When the apostle Paul was inspired to write these words so many years ago, I believe he had persevering and loving couples like Cleovis and Arwilda Whiteside in mind. Since 2019, the Whitesides have been recognized as Arkansas' ``Longest Married Couple.'' This Sunday, September 24, 2023, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, they are being recognized for their 84th year of marriage.

On what I am sure was a hot and humid Monday, July 24, 1939, 17-year- old Cleovis and 13-year-old Arwilda made a lifetime commitment to God and each other that has endured the test of time. The next year, Mrs. Whiteside delivered the first of their 12 children. In an interview last year, Mr. Whiteside, who was 100 at the time, stated, ``We've been together all this long time and I still love my wife. She still loves me, and we still get along just as good.'' Mrs. Whiteside added, ``I ran to him since I was nine years old and I've run first to God, then him ever since.'' We find within these 2 statements the foundation of a strong, Christ-centered marriage that inspires me and countless people, in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, and the entire state of Arkansas.

At the end of the 13th chapter of Corinthians, Paul tells us that when all is complete, 3 things remain: ``faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.'' I offer my most sincere congratulations to Mr. Cleovis and Mrs. Arwilda Whiteside on their 84 years of marriage. I thank them for exemplifying the greatest gift of persevering love.

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