Jerry Davich: New Year’s Day an ideal time to renew our vows

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Shirley and Willie West kiss as their son William and his bride Jewel smile during a double ceremony of renewal of vows and a wedding at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Gary, Ind. Saturday December 31, 2011. Shirley and Willie renewed their vows after 50 years of marriage. | Stephanie Dowell~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: February 2, 2012 8:04AM

Willie West stood proudly in his dapper suit and teal tie while waiting near the church altar for his wife of 50 years.

Shirley West sported a teal-colored dress, a bouquet of flowers and a gentle smile as she slowly walked to her husband.

Together, they stood side by side in front of dozens of guests inside the beautiful First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Gary, just east of Broadway. They were married at the same church on Dec. 31, 1961.

The guests wore their Sunday finest on Saturday afternoon, New Year’s Eve, a symbolic day for looking back and looking ahead.

“Don’t you just love weddings? Amen!” said the Rev. Emmanuel J. Vaughn Sr., who hosted a double ceremony on Saturday.

Not only did he unite one of the older couple’s four sons, William West, who married his bride, Jewel Cody. Vaughn also officiated the renewal of wedding vows for Willie and Shirley, of Gary, who have 22 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Willie is retired from Inland Steel while Shirley is retired from Chase Bank.

“Fifty years of marriage, wow!” Vaughn told guests as Willie and Shirley faced each other for their renewed vows.

“I promise to continue to be your husband ... and to love you,” Willie told Shirley.

“I promise to love you, comfort you and keep you, in sickness and in health,” Shirley told Willie.

“With this ring, I reaffirm my love for you,” the couple told each other, repeating after Vaughn.

Through laughter and tears, sorrow and joy, it was their love that sustained them every step of the way, Vaughn told guests.

“Fifty years ago, you thought you loved one another,” he told them while holding their wedding rings. “Now you know you do.”

Reflection and renewal

Several weeks ago, the couple’s son, William, notified me of his parents’ 50th anniversary of wedded bliss and the renewal of their wedding vows.

William noted a column I wrote months ago on the ninth annual Black Marriage Day, created to celebrate marriage in the black community, an endangered entity these days. Black couples have the lowest marriage rates in the country compared to other demographic groups, I wrote.

William’s parents, Willie and Shirley, are ideal role models to counter this trend and to show younger couples how it’s done. But their marriage, 50-year anniversary and wedding-vow renewal also can teach us something memorable on this New Year’s Day.

I thought their wonderful ceremony came at a perfect time for all of us to reflect and renew on the cusp of a new year.

On New Year’s Eve, we stood together at the top of a mountain called 2011. We spent the previous 365 days pushing a proverbial boulder up this mountain, similar to the mythological character Sisyphus who was condemned to watch it roll back down and repeat the meaningless task forever.

However, as we begin to roll our boulders up a new mountain called 2012 — and the renewed vows and resolutions that come with it — let’s keep in mind Willie and Shirley West, as well as other older couples who know what it takes to keep a vow.

It takes hard work. It takes loyalty. It takes determination. It takes love, if only for yourself, your goals and your dreams.

“A new beginning, a new beginning,” Vaughn told Willie and Shirley. “You may kiss your bride.”

Through laughter and smiles, the couple renewed their love amid family, friends and God.

“The best is yet to come,” Vaughn told guests. “Amen.”

What better day than today to instill his hopeful message in our renewed lives?

Listen to Jerry’s radio show “Casual Fridays” on Fridays at noon on WLPR 89.1-FM or www.thelakeshorefm.com.