FeedsCouple celebrates 50 years of marriage, blessings in community
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Erasmo and Sylvia Idunate celebrated 50 years of marriage–and countless blessings–recently.Erasmo Idunate still remembers what it was like when he arrived in the United States.
It was 1951, and after an all-day physical and what he describes as a very long train ride, he found himself on the streets of Dearborn.
“It was awesome,” he said. “It was an entirely different way of life.”
Idunate, who has lived in Wayne for more than 50 years, was just a teenager then. He was compelled to move to Michigan from Parras, a small town in the Mexican state of Coahuiala, when he was 15 after the death of his father. His aunt and uncle already lived in Michigan, and they reminded the young man of his responsibility.
“They said: ‘You’re the oldest one in the family, now. You have to take your father’s place. You’re coming with us to the States.”
All that was required was a passport, which he received eight months later.
When he arrived, he started to work at a company that manufactured fertilizer, sending as much money as he could back home to support his mother, brother and sister. It wasn’t a fortune, but he said his family was surprised by how much he was able to send back.
“They said ‘Wow, what are you doing? Robbing banks?’” Idunate said with a laugh.
It was there that he met Sylvia, a Detroiter, whom he eventually married. The Wayne couple celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. It wasn’t easy at first, according to Idunate .
“She didn’t like me back then,” he said.
They dated for three years before they could get married, due to financial constraints. Idunate sent too much money back to Mexico to support himself and someone else, so they had to wait until his younger brother turned 18 and could assume the family responsibilities.
Even then, the couple faced difficulties, living in a cramped apartment in a third floor of a home near Belle Isle.
“I had to take two or three buses to get to work,” Idunate said. “I had no car back then.”
They achieved a sort of fame when they moved into their house on Harroun Street. They were the first ones to move into the neighborhood and had their picture in the Detroit News.
“We were the first ones to close the deal,” Idunate said. They’ve lived in the house ever since.
Idunate eventually left the fertilizer plant and went to work for General Motors, spending 31 years there before he retired. He didn’t stay retired for long, though. His wife, who worked as a para-pro for the Wayne-Westland School District, heard about a temporary opening in the transportation department for a part-time sub. Idunate took the job, but soon learned that part-time wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.
“He worked every day,” Sylvia Idunate said.
He’s worked for the department for 15 years now, spending most of the time as a bus driver. The 74-year-old is about to retire again—this time for good, he thinks—at the end of next month. A medical condition has kept him out of the driver’s seat since May, though. His current role is as an attendant in the facility a few blocks from his house.
The Idunates raised six children and their extended family has expanded to include 10 grandchildren, too. It gets a little crowded around the holidays—particularly when Sylvia puts up her
extensive Christmas village.
Sylvia Indunate said the secret to a long happy marriage is relatively simple.
“You have to have a lot of faith,” she said.
“You have to talk to each other and understand each other,” her husband added. “She has her shortcomings, and I have mine…”
“I don’t have any,” Sylvia Indunate reminded him.
“We’ve been blessed,” she added. “We’re very blessed.”
