82-year marriage still strong

LOS ANGELES — As a lively group of elderly women scurried onto a shuttle for a shopping day on a recent Tuesday afternoon, Carla and Jack Weingarten could be found snuggled under a blanket inside their Los Angeles apartment, watching “I Love Lucy” episodes on repeat.

Carla, who’s 100, and Jack, who turned 105 on Dec. 25, used to look forward to their retirement community’s weekly outings. But these days, they prefer a more laid-back afternoon: Sitting side by side in their recliner chairs and watching one of Carla’s favorite shows — Jack mostly just listens because he’s lost much of his vision — as they hold hands for hours.

In August, Carla and Jack celebrated a major milestone: 82 years of marriage.

“We’re very lucky,” said Carla, who has short-term memory loss. Then she leaned over toward her husband to encourage him to chime in.

“Yeah,” he said in agreement, before kissing her hand tenderly. Jack, whose speech and memory have faded in recent years, used to tell their two sons that the key to a healthy marriage is “the man always having the last word: ‘Yes dear.’ ” Jack doesn’t talk much nowadays, but when he does, he’s typically calling out for Carla or telling her that he loves her multiple times a day.

“I love you too, Jackie,” she always responds.

The couple’s Hollywood-like love story began in Vienna, where Jack and Carla had been neighbors and family friends since they were kids. Their families also attended the same synagogue, though they didn’t pay much attention to each other due to their five-year age difference.

The family story goes like this: Around 1936, a teenage Jack moved to what was then known as Mandatory Palestine on the advice of a teacher because antisemitism was rapidly rising in Austria and neighboring Germany. Carla fled there a few years later during World War II. Her father thought she’d be safest there because she spoke Hebrew. He’d later be killed in a concentration camp, along with her mother, younger brother and grandparents. Before Carla left Austria, Jack’s mother asked her to give him a letter. His mother didn’t know exactly where he was living, but she hoped Carla would find him.

Soon after she arrived, Carla ran into one of Jack’s childhood friends, who told her where he was, and they reunited. Carla doesn’t remember what she thought of Jack when she saw him again, but his reaction was laced with the charming sense of humor he’s known for, according to their sons. “You look a lot better now,” Jack said to 17-year-old Carla. Knowing that she didn’t have any family or resources at the time, Jack told her, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you,” and he suggested they get married.

They tied the knot on Aug. 12, 1941, and had their first son, Joel, four years later, then their second son, Henry, in 1950. The young family moved to New York City in 1958 and made their way to Los Angeles a few months later. Jack worked for a children’s apparel company, while Carla worked as a seamstress and pattern maker.

“They struggled moving to America, but what I respected was that they never brought that to their children,” said Joel. Unlike some of his friends’ parents, Carla and Jack didn’t remind him and his brother about the sacrifices they’d made for them, he added. “I never heard anything from my parents about what they went through. They never looked back, they only looked forward.”

Jack and Carla had a vibrant social life until a couple years ago. First, Jack hurt his head after two falls and had to recuperate during dayslong hospital stays. Then he got COVID-19 and pneumonia. But before all that, Jack played bridge competitively for several years. He and Carla would go to every social event at their independent living community and encourage others to attend. If there was a dance floor, they were always on it. “They’re such a loved couple here,” said Deborah Rivera, the community’s business manager. She’s known them since they moved into the retirement complex nearly 15 years ago.

The couple used to travel regularly to places like Hawaii, Austria and Germany, and they have friends of various ages around the world. They’ve outlived many of their longtime friends. Fluent in multiple languages, including German, Hebrew and French, they typically speak to each other in German.

Photos from their trips, along with smiling images of their sons, daughters-in-law and three granddaughters, adorn every square foot of their spacious two-bedroom apartment. Carla used to love making personalized cards on her desktop computer for her loved ones’ birthdays, but she no longer does that these days.

“We’re lucky,” Carla said of their lives. “We thank God. We have no complaints. We have a good place here. We enjoy being here with the people. We have good friends.”