Royce and Betty Engle are longtime volunteers at Maple Crest Senior Living Village.

Royce is 91, and Betty is 89, but they’re still going strong, even though Royce says his heart is going bad.

The two volunteers have been married to each other for five years. They met at Maple Crest, where Betty, a widow at the time, came eight years ago when she needed some care. Royce came seven years ago with his second wife, who later died.

Their marriage “is almost unbelievable,” says Royce. They “have learned to share deeply their thoughts and feelings.” And they share in the many tasks they perform around Maple Crest, along with their involvement in First Mennonite Church in Bluffton.

At Maple Crest they are with people with various medical conditions, but they try to “make all contacts pleasant contacts,” says Royce. And Betty adds that they always try to offer encouragement. They help in the kitchen, serving food, particularly on special occasions, and they help prepare newsletters, serve Communion and lead Bible studies.

They also make cookies, with oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip being their favorites.

They don’t just relate to old people; they also enjoy the young people on staff at Maple Crest. At least one young couple planning to get married asked them for advice. They told the couple to develop good communication and talk things through. Royce told them, “Remember that the other person is more important than you.”

“And go to church together,” Betty added. “Pray together and stay together.”

Royce grew up in Abilene, Kan., and Betty in Columbus Grove, Ohio. Royce did alternative service as a conscientious objector during World War II. After attending Goshen (Ind.) College, he worked in companies dealing with farm equipment. He and his wife also served with Mennonite Voluntary Service in Illinois.

Betty was active in the United Church of Christ in various ways.

At every stage of life, people experience challenges to their faith. “We old people go through many changes,” Royce says. “Our bodies change, and we must change.”

Nevertheless, he says, “we believe the Lord is with us through all conditions.”

Their lives have not always been “happy and glorious,” he says, but they’ve remained faithful. “The Lord has something positive for us to be doing as long as we can think and pray.”

Betty says they’ve learned to cut quilt blocks for various churches, some from as far away as Goshen. They even do this when they’re sick. “We’re glad to help someone keep warm,” she says.

Various groups have come to see them and ask questions. Students from Bluffton University have interviewed them for studies about personality development. And a Sunday school class of fourth graders talked to them about what they did when they were young. Royce talked to a group at Bluffton University’s Lion and Lamb Peace Center about his experiences in Civilian Public Service during World War II.

Life is not always easy. “Through these transitions it’s easy to become discouraged,”
Royce says, but different spiritual practices help counter that. They have their devotions together before bed each night, he explains, when they read Scripture and pray aloud whatever is on their hearts. They attend church and Sunday school, give money as they can to various causes, and on the first and third Mondays of each month they host their small group from church, where they discuss Scripture and prayer needs.

Then there is their marriage. To have a friend with whom to communicate in depth is very helpful, Royce says.

Betty says she has enjoyed becoming a Mennonite and learning about the faith. And Maple Crest, where they live in their own apartment, she says, is “a wonderful place.”

Gordon Houser is associate editor of The Menno­nite.