Albany Couple To Celebrate 70th Anniversary

ALBANY, CA — Love, friendship and shared experiences have forged a bond that's kept Martin and Joanna Heymans together through good times and bad for nearly three quarters of a century.

On Sunday, the Albany couple that in met in Europe under the dark clouds of German occupation during World War II will celebrate their 70th anniversary under the Bay Area's sunny skies.

“As they celebrate more than 70 years together, they can be proud of the risks they have taken, leaving their country, learning a new language, creating a successful business and raising a family,” the Heymans' daughter-in-law Donna told Patch.

Martin was 12 and Joanna was 10 when the German occupation of Holland began in 1940.

As the Germans took over the town of Hank and the cafe where Martin and his 11 siblings were born the family had lived, they joined other refugees moving to a delta area called the Biesbosch where the large family and others lived on a boat away from their occupied village.

Martin was 16 when his family sent him to the neighboring town of Raamsdonksveer, where he lived next door to a 14-year-old Johanna who was also among 12 siblings.

They became friends and Martin eventually took Joanna to a carnival on their first date.

They married in 1951 but fled Holland after the North Sea flooding of 1953 left their family homes uninhabitable.

In 1954 they immigrated to Canada through a program which required Martin to work on a farm and in 1963 they followed other Dutch families to California and settled in Albany.

Martin, using his experience as a contractor in Holland, became an iron worker and eventually helped start a company while Johanna raised their two sons.

“The key to their success is being best friends, never falling out of love for each other and for their shared experience,” Heymans said.