Couples share their stories of faith and commitment
Eva and Deacon Jerry Pera, who celebrated 67 years of marriage, were blessed by Bishop Peter Chirstensen at the 9th annual Milestone Anniversary Mass. (ICR Photos/Vero Gutiérrez)
By Emily Woodham
Staff Writer
BOISE–More than 170 attended the annual Milestone Wedding Anniversary Mass on Nov. 23 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Boise. Bishop Peter Christensen presided at the Mass and blessed 55 couples celebrating 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 50+ years of marriage. Couples attended with family and friends who enjoyed a luncheon in the Cathedral parish hall after the Mass.
“This was the largest turnout we’ve had so far at the Cathedral” said Jay Wonacott, director of the Marriage and Family Life Office for the Diocese of Boise. He and Trish Campaña, administrative assistant, organized the Mass and luncheon. Bishop Peter began the annual tradition in 2016.
Deacon Jerry and Eva Pera had the honor of being the longest-married couple at the festivities. “We were told by a Monsignor that our marriage wouldn’t last a year,” Eva Pera said. “Boy, was he wrong!”
The Peras celebrated their 67th anniversary in August.
“I first saw her at Mass,” said Deacon Pera. “I was 18. She was 17. I had never seen her before, but I knew I wanted to marry her. I was just ‘twitterpated,’ like they said in the Disney movie, Bambi.”
Pera asked about Eva at their parish in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The priest told him she wanted to join the “St. Jude’s Club,” a group for teenagers and young adults. He joined the group and became the president. Eva was the secretary.
“St. Jude is the patron saint of the impossible,” Eva said. “So I prayed to him for a husband, and I got married. It worked!”
Deacon Pera proposed to her on New Year’s Eve of 1956 at a formal dance at the historic Claremont Hotel in San Francisco. “I asked her to marry me. She said, ‘Yes.’ But then she raised her finger and said, ‘Don’t forget: I don’t give back the ring or the man!’”
Their candor, sense of humor and outright stubbornness when it comes to commitment are the perfect recipe for staying married for more than 60 years. When asked if there is a particular secret, Eva told the Idaho Catholic Register, “You just do it.” Deacon Pera concurred.
“The ups and the downs are what make your marriage,” Eva continued. “It’s just one day at a time.”
Despite their joy and commitment, Eva’s parents were skeptical. Her family had escaped the Soviet invasion of Yugoslavia in 1944 when she was 7. They found refuge in Bavaria, and then moved to the United States when she was 13. “They were worried because so many Americans divorce,” Eva said.
“After ten years and three children, her parents warmed up to me,” Deacon Pera said, laughing.
Over the decades, the Peras had three children and fostered many others. Deacon Pera was ordained in the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1995. They moved to Boise in 1998 to be closer to their grandchildren. Eva Pera has been an officer and member of the Legion of Mary for many years. They continue to be active in their parish, Holy Apostles in Meridian.
Wesley (“Wes”) and Armalene Matson celebrated their 10th Anniversary. (ICR Photos/Vero Gutiérrez)
Wesley and Armalene Matson were among many couples celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary this year. Although the trend among young adults is to delay marriage or not to marry at all, they chose to marry about a year after graduating from college.
“Marriage just seemed to be the natural thing to do,” Armalene said. “We always felt committed to each other.”
Armalene was born and raised in Saipan, near Guam. Wesley came from a small town in Colorado. “We met at Neumont College of Computer Science in Salt Lake City. It was a really small college. We were in class together and started off as friends,” she said. “We just enjoyed each other’s company.”
“It was friends who pointed out to us that we were flirting with each other,” Wes said. “So we started dating.”
“Wes was the first man I really dated, but he was also the first one to really pursue me. I think without Wes, without our marriage, I really wouldn’t know the love of God, the love of Jesus, and how He pursues us,” Armalene said.
Armalene was raised in a Catholic family and was active in her parish. By the time she went to college, she felt a little burned out because of the many parish activities in which she was involved. Wes identified as a non-denominational Protestant and didn’t go to a specific church. He practiced his faith in private, occasionally meeting with other believers at their apartments. When they decided to get married, Armalene told Wes she wanted to be married in the Church. Wes agreed.
They graduated from college in 2013, but they couldn’t find jobs in the same state. Wes moved to Boise, and Armalene moved to Las Vegas. Despite this, they continued to prepare for marriage at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Boise, and Catholic Engaged Encounter was an important part of their marriage formation.
“I vowed that our kids would be raised Catholic,” Wes said. On Sept. 20, 2014, they married at the Cathedral.
Both were still feeling “lukewarm in their faith,” Armalene said, but she was drawn more and more to God during the pandemic. Her faith was renewed on Christmas Eve of 2022 during the Midnight Mass.
At the same time, Wes and Armalene were struggling with infertility, but still desired to have children.
Wes decided it was time to enter the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) to know more about the faith in which he vowed to raise their children. “Going through OCIA, I realized I found the Church that I’d been looking for in the epistles of the New Testament,” he said.
Wes was confirmed in 2023.
For about a year, Armalene and Wes focused on their relationships with God. Armalene wanted especially to avoid becoming burned out again from being too busy in the church.
“I had a performance mind-set, and I wanted to get out of that. I needed everything to flow from my identity and not from what I do,” Armalene said. “I needed to confirm my identity as a beloved daughter of God.”
Now, they are both active in the Cathedral parish, serving in several ministries together.
When asked if they had advice for couples afraid of commitment, they echoed Eva Peras’ response, “Just do it.”
“Getting married young doesn’t mean you can’t travel or have other life experiences. It just means you do those things together, and it’s better because you’re together,” Wes said.
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