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Plant Couples Good As Gold

KATHY MOORE/Tampa Tribune

Henry B. Plant High School 1958 graduates: Minnie Norton, seated front. back row: Doug Norton, Berger Justen, Lynette Justen, Judy Rose, Dave Rose, Yvonne Renton, and Barney Renton.

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By JAMIE PILARCZYK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 12, 2008

PALMA CEIA - Plant High School sweethearts Doug Norton and Minnie Otero predicted the future when they signed their 1958 yearbooks "The Future Mr. and Mrs."

The Nortons got married three years later.

They are among more than seven couples who dated at Plant 50 years ago and are married today. They will be attending their golden class reunion April 18 through 20 at the Westshore Hotel.

As they walked the halls in a recent visit, the Nortons held hands and stopped in front of a classroom where they studied Spanish. That's where the two met during their junior year, 1957. Doug sat in front of Minnie.

"She had beautiful eyes and beautiful hair," said Doug, a third-generation Plant alumnus.

The Nortons, of Carrollwood, will celebrate their 47th anniversary on Sept. 2. They have three children and two granddaughters. They said what has most helped their marriage last is communication.

"We're straightforward and honest with each other," said Doug, who worked as a comptroller for Dulin Brokerage Co. "We try not to end the day on a bad note. We go to bed happy - that helps."

"It's not the word 'me' or 'I', it's 'we,'" said Minnie, a stay-at-home mom who now works part time for the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. "You become 'we.'"

Yvonne (Henderson) and Barney Renton of Mount Dora met when a friend gave them both a ride home from school.

"He was in his ROTC uniform the first time I saw him," Yvonne said, winking. "We would walk to dances and football games; he didn't have a driver's license. He had a little scooter, but my parents didn't want me to ride it."

They would share hush puppies and a Coke at the Colonnade for 25 cents. Barney worked at the Publix on Gandy Boulevard and Yvonne at W.T. Grant, a dime store that used to be in Britton Plaza.

"We're best friends," said Yvonne. After raising their three children, she worked in retail in fine fragrances. She now works at a small shop in downtown Mount Dora. They have three grandchildren.

"The smile; it attracted me," said Barney, who retired as a project manager for Lockheed Martin a decade ago. He teaches classes part time at Lake Sumter Community College as well as motorcycle safety. He and Yvonne ride their Honda Goldwing with a club out of Leesburg.

They went to the junior prom together. Barney still keeps some notes Yvonne made on the highlights of marriage, including, "After many years, you look at your partner and see someone who knows you better than anyone else in the world, and still loves you."

The Rentons, who eloped Oct. 4, 1958, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in the fall.

Yvonne's best advice is the same as the Nortons: Don't go to bed angry.

"That's really important. You have to work at it all the time," Yvonne said. "We're still working at it after 50 years."

Dave and Judy (Jillson) Rose of Valrico both moved to Tampa from the Northeast. Although they were classmates at Plant, they didn't become friends until two years after graduation when they were co-workers at GTE. They reconnected at a dance party at the La Playa Hotel on Redington Beach in June 1960.

"That was it for us, and we married in 1962, one week before the Nortons," Judy said. The wedding was at Christ the King Church, with a reception at the Interbay Civic Center.

He said the key to their strong marriage is not sweating the small stuff.

"You have to be able to overlook each other's mistakes and faults along the way," he said. "We hit it off pretty good. Fortunately, we haven't had any great crisis in our 50 years."

They have two daughters and four grandchildren. Dave retired from GTE and Judy from the Hillsborough County School District. She is involved with the First United Methodist Church in Brandon, and he volunteers at Cracker Country at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

For her Christmas gift this past year, Lynette (Hamrick) Justen received the DVD of the 1957 Andy Griffith movie "A Face in the Crowd." It was the movie she and her husband, Berger, saw on their first date, at Tampa Theatre.

They dated throughout their senior year and have been together since. Berger ran Tropco Paint, the family paint manufacturing company, and Lynette worked for what is now First Union bank. They have three children (Kelly passed away unexpectedly in 2005), five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

"He adores me, and I him," Lynette said. "He's a very bright fellow, and I'm very proud of him."

Berger said he was instantly attracted to Lynette and jumped at the chance when he heard she was single. They married in 1960. They live in Homosassa and are looking to move to Carrollwood.

Lynette helped organize the Class of 1958's first reunion, held in 1976, and has attended the six others since. They occasionally attend a monthly gathering on the second Wednesdays at Perkins, 612 N. Dale Mabry Highway.

"We're not pretentious at this age. If there's something you want to do, you've done it," Lynette said. "We keep hanging on to each other. They are our stability."

Keyword: Plant Reunion for a slideshow and audio presentation on Minnie and Doug Norton and Lynette and Berger Justen.

IF YOU GO

50th Reunion

WHO: Plant High School Class of '58

WHEN: April 18-20

WHERE: The Westshore Hotel, 1200 N. West Shore Blvd.

CONTACT: Mickey Chiles at (813) 839-3908 or go to www.bruce morehead.com/58

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 835-2114 or jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com. Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk can be reached at (813) 835-2114 or jpilarczyk@tampatrib.com.

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