Marionville couple renews old vows

Elopers circle back 69 years later for overdue wedding ceremony at own venue
 
When a couple has been married for 69 years, their anniversary calls for an extra-special celebration. So for their 69th wedding anniversary, Jack Rapp, of Marionville, decided he would surprise his wife, Doris, with something special: a renewal of their vows.
Jack Rapp met Doris when they were both in their teens. Valerie Maples, Jack and Doris’ granddaughter, said Doris’ father had purchased a palomino horse for her in the hopes of keeping her interested in boys. However, one day, Jack saw her while he was working with his horse, Nag, and asked her if she wanted to race.
“The rest is history,” Maples said.
Jack and Doris eloped to Arkansas when he was 18 and she was 16; he joined the Navy soon afterwards. He was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Hancock, where he became a pipefitter’s apprentice, and after his stint in the Navy, made a career as a pipefitter.
Maples said the inspiration for the wedding renewal came from an article she read about an older couple taking wedding photos. She suggested to Jack that he and Doris could do the same.
“I asked Grandpa it he wanted to surprise her,” she said, “and he has always done whatever he could to make her happy, so he agreed. They had never really had the ‘getting ready’ for wedding pictures type wedding though they did renew their vows once.”
The celebration was held at the Coleman Vault, a venue Jack and Doris own in Marionville. Jack wore a naval uniform, reminiscent of his days in the Navy, while Doris wore a wedding dress. Maples said Jack told Doris about the surprise on the morning their renewal of vows was to take place.
“I asked (Grandma) how he broke the news to her,” Maples said. “She said he came to where she was standing put his arms on both of her shoulders looked her in the eye and said "we have to go downtown here in a bit. We are going to have us a wedding.”