Vivian and Alice say ‘I do’ after seven decades

More than seven decades after beginning their relationship, Vivian Boyack and Alice "Nonie" Dubes have married.

Boyack, 91, and Dubes, 90, sat next to each other in wheelchairs during the ceremony, the Quad City Times reports.

“This is a celebration of something that should have happened a long time ago,” the Reverend Linda Hunsaker told the small group of close friends and family who attended.

The women met in their hometown of Yale, Iowa, while growing up. Then they moved to Davenport in 1947 where Boyack taught school and Dubes did payroll work. Dubes said the two have enjoyed their life together and over the years they have travelled to all 50 states, all the provinces of Canada, and to England twice.

“We’ve had a good time,” Dubes said.

Boyack said it takes a lot of love and work to keep a relationship going for 72 years. Longtime friend Jerry Yeast, 73, said he got to know the couple when he worked in their yard as a teenager: “I’ve known these two women all my life, and I can tell you, they are special,”

Iowa began allowing gay marriage in 2009. The two women say it is never too late for a new chapter in life.