LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Time now for StoryCorps. Etta Ehrlich and her husband, Milt, were married for more than 60 years. They talked about their love story in this StoryCorps interview eight years ago.
ETTA EHRLICH: The story begins, I guess, with how we met.
MILT EHRLICH: We were both applying for work. And you were wearing a yellow dress.
E EHRLICH: You took one look at me. And you said you're going to marry me.
M EHRLICH: Yeah. And then we lived happily ever after. So who do you think is going to die first?
E EHRLICH: We'll find that out, won't we?
M EHRLICH: I'm afraid.
E EHRLICH: Don't be afraid.
FADEL: Etta Ehrlich recently died of cancer. Milt, who's 90, came back to StoryCorps to remember their life together.
M EHRLICH: There was never a dull moment in life with Etta. And I had no complaints about having her for a wife for 62 years. It was what Oscar Wilde has said we should all be, fantastic. Any time there was any kind of music on, she would start dancing. And I was her favorite audience. She would improvise to such an extent that the kids thought she was nuts. And she never stopped talking (laughter). But I was very quiet, so we were very compatible.
Sadly, a tumor ended her life. And we helped her to die comfortably with us all by her side. Etta was very courageous in not fearing the end of her life. One of the most loving things she said to me was, don't worry. I'll be there for you forever. You know, there's only two things that matter in life. Use your potential, whatever it is. Use it to the full. And find someone to love who loves you back.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHRIS ZABRISKIE'S "THAT KID IN FOURTH GRADE WHO REALLY LIKED THE DENVER BRONCOS")
FADEL: Milt Ehrlich remembering his wife, Etta Ehrlich in Leonia, N.J. She died last year at the age of 90. Their interviews will be archived at the Library of Congress.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHRIS ZABRISKIE'S "THAT KID IN FOURTH GRADE WHO REALLY LIKED THE DENVER BRONCOS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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