Philip and Mary Beard

Philip's and Mary's honeymoon was on Kauai. They decided to return for the first time to the Hawaiian Islands to celebrate their 50th anniversary, which they celebrated in July on Maui, with all three sons and their families joining them.

They met as teenagers in 1960 at a summer orchestra camp at Stanford University, and began dating two years later after running into each other on the Stanford campus, where both families lived and where Philip was already studying.

Mary attended Mt. Holyoke College for two years (1962-64) before returning to Stanford to finish her undergraduate studies.

They were married in Palo Alto on June 12, 1965, and lived in married student housing on the Stanford campus while Mary finished her BA in music and Philip his PhD in German studies.

After studying two years in Germany (Mary classical voice, Philip working on his PhD dissertation), they returned to California in 1969. Philip started teaching at Sonoma State University, where he retired after 36 years in 2005.

Mary continues to perform and teach voice and piano in her private studio in Santa Rosa.

They raised three sons: Elliott (wife Christel Mermet, children Alexander and Sarah), Julian (wife Molly Kiebel, daughters Lily and Adeline), and Jonathan (wife Lindsey Strand-Polyak).

In 1974 they helped found the Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm, which all their sons attended and which just celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Mary remains active in the Music Teachers Association of California and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Philip is a founding member of the GoLocal Cooperative. He also plays trumpet in several local bands and orchestras.

Advice for a long and happy marriage? Philip says 'Get over yourself and be kind.' Mary says 'Appreciate and grow from all life brings you.'