Carolyn and David Wiley Celebrate 60th Annniversary

Carolyn and David Wiley celebrated 60 years of marriage on June 10 and we’re so glad they made it. They were married in Irving, Texas, though a longhorn steer on the highway tried to stop the whole affair.

As a young couple, David took a job with the ‘Boney’ Company of Seattle where he spent his days “dirtying papers.” It is in Washington where they started their family. First came Alexandra followed a couple of years later by Sharon. In Seattle, Carolyn did young mom stuff and probably art. There was always art.

With two young children in tow, they were called back to Texas. David worked on some super-secret NASA/Boeing project. He won’t tell you about it even if you ask. In Houston, the family was completed with the addition of Laura. The lure of the great PNW is strong so, in late ‘72 the Wileys finally left ‘Old Hot Sweaty’ for good. This was a good thing. We’re not sure any of us Wiley girls would have survived in that climate anyway.

Washington state has been their home for nearly 50 years. David continued to work for Mr. Boeing until his retirement sometime in the 90’s. Meanwhile, Carolyn enjoyed a career of teaching elementary school and being a patron of the arts in Kent. Three daughters were brought up in Kent, and all moved north. Shortly after finally getting that last girl out of the house, they hightailed it out of town in the opposite direction and landed on the Longbranch Peninsula. They didn’t get away quite far enough because the daughters and the next generation of five grandchildren still get down to see them every once in a while.

Retirement has been busy! Keep your eyes out around the peninsula, you might spot a Wiley in the wild. If you see Tai Chi happening in the parking lot of the Longbranch Improvement Club, attend the Fiber Arts Show or Farm Tour, catch the water aerobics class at Camp Easter Seals or that old guy hanging out at the Tom Taylor YMCA, make sure to wish that lovebird a happy anniversary, because after 60 years, we’d say, they made it.