LYNNWOOD—In the spirit of Valentine’s Day 2025, the Lynnwood Times sat down with two Lynnwood couples at Quail Park Assisted Living Center, each with more than 50 years of marriage under their belt, to discuss the secrets behind a long-lasting relationship and the elements of love.
The first couple, Dick and Gail Hankinson, are coming up on 59 years of marriage this year. The two shared having common interests, patience, and compromise all played a part in loving each other now just as much as when they met in 1965.
The second couple, Jack and Gloria Lyon, have been married for 72 years and owe the secret to their success to their faith.
Dick and Gail Hankinson
Dick and Gail Hankinson first met each other while both working at Alderwood Middle School in 1965 – where Gail was working as a Social Studies teacher and Dick was working as a Mechanical Drawing teacher. Gail later continued to get her counseling credentials and became a School Counselor. Dick would later go on to teach Art for several years before eventually teaching Math.
The couple recalled their first date, which took place over Thanksgiving break the same year that they met. Gail had gone down to Oregon to attend a friend’s wedding and Dick took a skiing trip up to Steven’s Pass but cut it short knowing that Gail would be returning home sometime that afternoon. He waited to ski until the time he knew she would be back, raced down the mountain to give her a call, and asked her out to a movie.
Dick proposed while the two were on a drive during the summer of 1966 in Gail’s brand new Mustang. As they drove Dick turned to Gail and said: “you know, I’ve been thinking about selling my Datsun.” He had just purchased the Datsun 1600 so Gail was surprised to hear him say this.
“Why,” she asked.
“Well, when we get married,” Dick replied, “we’ll only need one car.”
Gail took a moment to process this and said, after some silence: “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Yes,” Dick replied. “Yes, I guess that I am.”
That same year the Hankinsons were married on Vashon Island where Gail grew up. The wedding was held in a small community church – where Gail’s mother was the organist. Though the church pews were filled with friends and family the couple described their wedding as “modest”—no champagne just “cake and coffee.” Their rings were designed by a local jeweler they had met at an art show.
With over 50 years of marriage under their belt, the Hankinsons reflected on the secret to their marriage’s success, boiling it down to “being patient,” “having a good sense of humor,” and having “common interests.”
“Anytime you are in a relationship, whether it’s a friendship or otherwise, there is a compromise,” said Dick. “And you have to be able to understand what the other person is talking about and either agree to disagree or compromise somehow.”
Just a few of these common interests include skiing, golfing, reading and academia, traveling, and furniture.
Prior to returning to school to study Mechanical Arts Gail was a carpenter by trade – an interest he held unto well into his days as a public instructor, building his own furniture and even the Hankinson’s very own dream home off Meadowdale beach, which the couple designed together. The couple’s common interest in Mid-Century Modern architecture made the combined effort seamless, they shared.
“We had gone to a home show and I saw a model of, kind of a, cabin. But I looked at the overall structure of it – it was a story and a half with a loft. But I said to Dick come look at this, it seems that we can take that design and blow it up,” said Gail. “And that would be the right type of house for us. So that’s what we did.”
The couple never had children, so the house was built for two people. From design to completion took about six months. Dick shared how he would wake up early, go to his teaching job, then go to the construction site and work all night until about 10 p.m. He joked that he didn’t pick up a hammer for three months after that.
As far as skiing goes, Gail retired from skiing about six years ago but Dick – at once a Nationally certified ski instructor – is still going strong and is even a member of a local ski club called “Seventy and Over” that takes several national, and one international, trip a year. Dick wears a patch on his shoulder when he skis that reads “85+” and shared that he hopes to one day wear a patch that says “90+”
Though Gail has put her ski poles up for good she still enjoys accompanying her husband whenever she can, enjoying sitting by a fire with a cup of hot chocolate.
The couple is also well traveled, having been all over Western Europe, China, Japan, and the Caribbean. Dick was also an avid sailor having sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and from Alaska to Hawaii.
Their favorite all-time trip was going on a river cruise through Western Europe during the Christmas season – when each of their stops were having various Christmas markets and the Christmas lights seen from the shore illuminated off of the water creating a “magical” and impressionable memory.
Looking back on their life the Hankinsons wouldn’t necessarily say they believe in the concept of a “soulmate,” but they can’t deny that, over the years, their lives have continued to work in a way they believe was “meant to be.”
Jack and Gloria Lyon
Jack and Gloria Lyon’s eyes first locked across a crowded room, during a dance held at the University of Minnesota where they were attending at the time. Jack approached Gloria, asked her to dance, and she agreed. The two danced the night away but Jack called it an early night, explaining he had to be up early to teach Sunday School the next day. Little did he know just by saying this Gloria had determined that he was the one.
“That did it for me,” said Gloria. “Because I knew that he was a Christian.”
It didn’t take long before the two realized they were “of the same heart,” Jack added.
Gloria recalled the first time she brought Jack home to meet her grandmother who asked if he was Swedish. When he said he wasn’t she asked if he liked cats. Jack, in fact, wasn’t a cat person but said “yes” anyway – taking the hint from Gloria’s elbow driving into his ribs.
Under grandma’s approval, the two got married just a year after, in August of 1953, while they were both attending school – Jack for Mechanical Engineering and Gloria for Science Literature, although she eventually dropped out to support her husband while he completed his degree.
Jack proposed to Gloria during a ski trip to Wisconsin. He had previously asked Gloria’s sister what her ring size was, knowing she would probably ruin the surprise…and she did.
After college Jack secured a job as a Mechanical Engineer with Kaiser, in the Spokane Valley, which ultimately drew the couple to the Pacific Northwest. The two, coincidentally enough, did eventually have cats.
The Lyons owe the success of their marriage to their faith in Jesus Christ, they shared. Second to that they stressed the importance of forgiveness, advising to “never go to bed mad at each other.”
The couple loved to ski together over the years, which was also a deciding factor to move to Washington above all other job offers in states with less-than-optimal slopes. Jack added that it was evident from their early days dating that many aspects of their lives were compatible.
The Lyons just recently moved to Quail Park in Lynnwood, from Federal Way, just 10 days ago. Once they realized their home in Federal Way was too big for their needs, their son flew up from California to help them shop for some nearby assisted living facilities.
After shopping around for several buildings, he found Quail Park in Lynnwood and quickly put down a deposit – before the Lyons even saw it – because “he knew,” Gloria explained, “that this was the place.”
So far, the two shared that they absolutely love living at Quail Park. It also helps that their daughter lives in nearby Mountlake Terrace so she can visit frequently.
“I think it’s a ten-star facility, we are very happy here and the people are so friendly,” said Gloria. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone without a permanent smile. Everybody we meet is like that and they remember our names.”
The Lyons have three children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
This upcoming Valentine’s Day Jack said all he wants is a “hug and a kiss.” The two will be celebrating by going out to lunch with some friends.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
