Golden — Juan and Lydia Torres celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday. The residents of San Benito shared their history and thoughts on what makes a marriage last. (San Benito News/Ray Quiroga)
By RAY QUIROGA
publisher@sbnewspaper.com
For the past 50 years, Juan and Lydia Torres have shared life’s highs, lows, uncertainties, and successes together.
Fortunately for the San Benito couple who celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in a Harlingen ballroom on Saturday, surrounded by family and friends, life has given them more good times than bad.
Juan, Pastor at Templo La Hermosa in San Benito, said the change came decades ago, when he found God. That’s when he believes he truly began to dedicate himself to becoming more devoted to God, his family, and his wife.
God, he said, not only provided him with the wisdom and courage to get through the tough times, but also gave him the answers to raise a family and nurture his ever-evolving relationship with his wife.
His best advice for maintaining a happy marriage, aside from knowing God, is to “Just walk away,” he said in Spanish, regarding arguments that flare up between spouses. He further explained that before he found God, his pride wouldn’t let him walk away; instead, he would engage. Both Lydia and Juan say they know better now and recognize that arguing isn’t worth it.
Juan spent 12 years as an assistant pressman at the San Benito News and worked for an additional decade at Valley Baptist Hospital as a custodian.
He then had to make a difficult decision, he said. As his ministry grew, he needed Sundays off from the hospital to conduct services at the church, something the hospital was unable to accommodate.
He ultimately chose to devote his full-time efforts to the church while Lydia, a former Levi’s factory employee, and licensed cosmetologist, expanded her floral business. There were tough times, indeed, but God, Juan said, always provided.
Lydia, who originally stemmed from Donna, met Juan on Easter in 1971 during a family outing at Harlingen’s Victor Park. Juan’s uncle knew the Medranos, Lydia’s family, and introduced the couple. They married in 1975 in San Benito, and their union resulted in four now-grown children—Juan Jr., Veronica, Josue, and Stephanie—as well as 11 grandchildren.
Juan recently faced health issues but has overcome them, for the most part, with continued care and treatment, once again learning from the experience and giving credit to the grace of God for his healing.
Lydia said that she’s also grateful for Juan’s recovery, for her family and for Juan who concluded by saying, “We’re very grateful and give thanks to God, first and foremost, for having put us in this position and to move forward with the time he has given us.”
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