Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Janie had a two-and-a-half mile walk home from church that Ray quickly became apart of until he went into the Air Force and served during the Korean War.
“I say my mother gave me away because he wrote her a letter while he was in service and asked if he could marry me,” Janie said. “He didn’t ask me. He asked my mother.”
“I thought I would go through the top channel,” Ray said.
Ray returned on leave and the couple got married on Nov. 29, 1951 in what they described as “the biggest church” in Lafollette, Tennessee — even though the official papers were signed in the basement where the pastor’s office was located.
They recalled when they were getting their marriage license that the man happened to know Janie’s dad and when she told him how old she was, he refused to help them get married. They had to get Janie’s mom involved to officially tie the knot.
“I was never scared (to get married) because I knew he was going to take care of me. He was always there,” Janie said. “Still to this day, we do not go without one another.”
After they married, Ray was heading to San Francisco, Calif. with the Air Force. Janie stayed home and bought everything they would need to move in together. He was discharged in December 1953 and by January 1954 they had moved to the Dayton region.
As they were living in an apartment, they recalled watching the late-Ted Ryan on WHI-TVO one night and hearing that a GI could have a home for $99 down and $77 a month in what is now Kettering.
Today, the couple lives in the same house they built in 1955 off of East Dorothy Lane near The Greene.
“It’s our first home and it’s where we raised our kids,” Janie said.
The couple has three children: Connie Creech, Rick Bolden and Randy Bolden. Creech described her parents as strict, but always willing to give them their freedom.
“They made sure that we were going where we said we were going and they would check it out ahead of time,” Creech said.
Some of her favorite memories include going on family vacations every year and pranking her dad. Ray shared several stories of his children, and even Janie, pranking him. From waking up to a rooster and finding a fake snake in his bed to getting the hot water turned off when he was showering, the pranks varied as their three children grew up.
“That’s the kind of life we lived,” Janie said.
Ray believes their key to a successful marriage is loving their children like they do and wanting the best for them.
“If you have children, honor them and respect them,” Ray said. “We never had any trouble out of our kids or anything. We did stuff with them and when you do stuff with them that makes you stay together.”
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The couple has traveled to 42 states and a handful of countries such as France, England, Mexico, Canada and the Netherlands. One trip they looked forward to every year was returning to Tennessee for a homecoming game where Ray would sing at for 15 years.
Ray worked at General Motors for nearly 32 years. He also coached little league at East Kettering Recreation and played music three to four nights a week.
“Five hours a night, I would entertain with just me and the mic and a five piece band behind me,” Ray said.
He was well-known throughout the area and most people say he sounds just like Johnny Cash. The last place he was known for performing was at the Lebanon Grand Opry House.
Janie was a stay-at-home-mom who also babysat other children in the neighborhood. She is a natural caregiver that loves her family. She enjoys going to church at First Baptist Kettering, where she worked in the nursery for 50 years.
One of her favorite things to do is gardening and taking care of their home. She has won the Kettering Neighborhood Pride Award five times.
One of the most important things in a marriage is “being willing to help the other,” Ray said.
When he would get off of work at General Motors, he would head to baseball and then come home to change and get ready to entertain. He said Janie would have his clothes ready for him and while he was getting ready, the family would sit and talk to him.
“If it hadn’t been for her going along the way that she did with me, I couldn’t have done all of those things that I did,” Ray said.
“That’s my job,” Janie said.
Creech, who has been married 48 years, said her parents have been a great example of what marriage should look like. The biggest lesson they’ve taught her is to always “work it out.”
In addition to three children, the couple has six grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.
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