For Lou and Edith Bluefield, 2021 is starting off in a celebratory manner with the couple turning 100 and having their 80th wedding anniversary this year. The Bluefields are currently residing at Boca West Country Club and have lived there for 35 years. But their story goes back much further.
Lou and Edith met when they were 16 in Baltimore and were married at 19 in 1941. February 23 marks their 80th year together and the couple remains inseparable today.
Soon after their wedding, Lou enlisted in the military following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Edith wrote to her new spouse every day for three years while he was away. When the war ended, Lou, who was in the Philippines, stood in line for nine hours to send a radiogram to Edith with details of his return.
“She felt that was the closest way we could be together if she sent me a letter,” Mr. Bluefield noted.
Together they ran a successful Kosher catering business “Bluefield Caterers” and were responsible for catering and koshering The White House kitchen following the announcements of the Peace Accords under President Jimmy Carter- the first time a Josher meal had been served at the White House. They went on to cater President Nixon’s Inaugural Ball and events for other members of Congress.
“We never took deposits. Our business was built on trust and on a handshake,” Mr. Bluefield said. “And it was never just another affair. We knew how much each event meant to our customers.”
Now, they have been retired for 35 years in Boca Raton and find new levels of appreciation for one another.
“As of today, we are both in good health, we’re blessed,” Mr. Bluefield said. “I mean Boca is the best of the best- we really found a home away from home. It has everything, it is just remarkable, and Boca West is really outstanding.”
Mr. Bluefield comments on their relationship citing the mutual respect and love they have for each other leading to their long-lasting marriage.
“We like each other, and we’re not bored, we don’t bicker, and we get along well. Whatever my wife wants is fine,” Mr. Bluefield said. “If my wife says it’s pink, and I think it’s a little more to the red side- it’s pink. It’s so unimportant, I don’t have to prove a point. We don’t need anyone else around to enjoy the evening.”