60 YEARS OF LOVING LAUGHTER
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 29, 2004

Like many couples, Ed Ferrari "picked up" his wife, Patty, on a college
campus. They joke that she "fell" for him. In their case, it's literally
true, and they're still laughing about it 60 years later.

Laughter has been the foundation of their long marriage, the Mesa couple
say. "She thinks I'm a comedian, and I call her my straight man," Ed says
with a hearty laugh.

Patty suffered polio as an infant in her hometown of Bonne Terre, Mo.
Several surgeries between the ages of 5 and 9 left her left leg slightly
shorter and smaller than the right.

She was hardly disabled, however, when she met Ed in the summer of 1943 at
Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo. She was studying education, and
he was undergoing officer candidate training with the Navy. Because of the
demands of World War II, the U.S. Naval Academy was overloaded, and officer
candidates were farmed out to programs around the country.

Patty and Ed met poolside at the college and struck up a conversation. "He
was talkative, friendly," Patty, now 80, says. "He was an Italian and
crazy."

"I am a crazy Italian," Ed, 81, says with a chuckle. "She was a very
good-looking young lady."

He says he never noticed her shortened leg and wouldn't have cared if he
had. She says he was more mature than other boys she had dated.

As Ed walked her home, the two came to a small break in the road. Patty, who
still suffered occasional balance problems, tripped and took a tumble.

"I went all the way down," she recalls. "I don't do things halfway."

The dashing sailor reached down and picked her up, laughing and putting her
at ease. "That impressed me a lot," Patty says, and it was then that she
began to fall again - in love. "I loved that he always made me laugh. That's
what did it."

By his fourth semester of school, Ed was so crazy for Patty he couldn't
concentrate on his studies and failed to graduate. But he was sent to
submarine training and spent five years in the Navy on a sub as a signalman
first class. "I loved it," he says. "I had quite a few experiences."

Ed's adventure with Patty has been smooth sailing. Married Dec. 23, 1944,
they have two daughters, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren,
with another on the way. Patty and Ed are still falling in love, he says.
"We thank God every day it's been a pleasure."

NOTE:  Melanie found this article while googling "Bonne Terre, MO".   Does
anyone know Patty's maiden name?  If so, please e-mail us.  Thanks!