GUSTINE – Faith, family and a steadfast devotion to one another are the bonds which have kept a rural Gustine couple together for more than 50 years, a relationship dating back to their high school days.

John and Mary (Cozzitorto) Hunt were already inseparable by the time they formally became engaged at a Valentine’s dance in 1951; they exchanged wedding vows the following year and have journeyed down life’s road side by side ever since in a marriage that has grown stronger through the years.

Their enduring life together started in high school in the late 1940s. John was living on his family’s ranch off the road named for the Hunt family; Mary lived in town after coming to the West Side from Italy at age 16.

“My dad was already here from Italy, and he called for the rest of the family in 1947,” Mary recalled. “We already had a lot of family here, so it was like reuniting with family.”

She met John, who was two years ahead of her in school, while the two were at a football game.

“We were both in the printing class, and we sold programs for the football games,” John recalled.

Soon, John begin offering Mary rides to school, and a courtship quickly blossomed.

Many of the couple’s dates were to school activities, although the Valley Theatre was also a popular date destination in an era long before multi-screen cinemas came to dominate the industry.

“We enjoyed the dances and the games; we were very centered around school activities,” Mary explained. “We also enjoyed the town dances a lot.”

The two teens were dedicated to one another from the start.

“If just seemed like he was the guy,” Mary reflected.

“I think God put us together,” John added.

They became engaged during Mary’s junior year. She graduated in 1952, and the two were married that fall after John had returned home from his Air Force basic training.

The couple lived in Kansas, where John was stationed, for the following three and a half years before returning to the West Side.

The couple had two daughters - Jan Codorniz and Kathi Hunt. They have two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

They tried to instill strong values in their children, Mary said, and to be role models as their children grew.

“You have to have open communication with them, and trust in them,” she reflected.

Family has remained an important part of life on the Hunt ranch, where the heritage now encompasses six close-knit generations.

“They love each other, and you can tell. All our friends say that they hope they have a marriage like that,” commented Carla Martin, the Hunts’ granddaughter. “They are always very loving, and they show their affection. That’s how they are.”

The family greatly enjoys the regular Borrelli family reunions (Mary’s side of the family), and in the past attended a Hunt family reunion in Canada. Twenty years ago, the couple traveled to Italy, where they visited Mary’s home town.

A shared faith has strengthened the bonds of their marriage, say the Hunts. They are active members of Westside Christian Center.

“All marriages have troubles, but truly God has held us together,” John said.

They agree that a successful marriage involves compromise, the give-and-take in which couples strike a balance.

And, Mary adds, “you have to have communication, or it doesn’t work.”

Their shared interests include hearty meals in which both play a part. The homemade sauce for Mary’s popular Italian dishes is often prepared with tomatoes grown in John’s garden.

“She is a wonderful cook,” John complimented.

It is an acquired skill, Mary said. “I was not a good cook at first, but I learned,” she said.

Now, she says, “cooking is my hobby,” and she loves preparing meals for her family.

The Hunts also volunteer as docents at the Gustine Museum.

For two people who grew up literally an ocean apart, finding each other was a recipe for lifelong happiness.

The Hunts have genuinely enjoyed their life together, the closeness of their family and their love for one another.

“You grow up, and you get wisdom with experience,” John reflected. “Our love has grown even more since we have been married.”