This Thanksgiving, one family had something extra-special to be thankful for. Donald and Kyriakoula “Koula” Holmquist are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary.

The pair, who now reside in Williamsport, were married on Nov. 28, 1954, by Rev. William Kehayes at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Boston, Mass.

The couple met in 1953, Boston at the YMCA, where Koula was a GSO girl. GSO girls were similar to the USO girls, who made soldiers feel at home, no matter how far from home the men were stationed.

Don was in the Navy and his submarine was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, being repaired, said Koula.

He and two of his fellow sailors went to Boston for dinner and were told to go to the YMCA in Charlestown, a Boston neighborhood, where there was a dinner for servicemen with dancing afterwards.

Koula was there working as a GSO girl washing dishes, when Don walked into the kitchen holding an apple, which he asked her to wash.

“He came in with an apple and he wanted me to wash it. I washed it, gave it back to him and he says, ‘What are you doing?” Koula shared.

She told him she was washing dishes and asked if he wanted to help — he said “no,” Koula recalled with a laugh.

Don had spotted her when he walked in.

“I saw her from across the room. I thought to myself, ‘Wow, there’s a cute Italian girl. I gotta go meet her,’ or something and then she went into the kitchen.”

A naturally introverted person, “I don’t know why I walked away,” Don said with a laugh, about being asked to help wash dishes.

After cleanup began the dance, where the two still kept their eyes on each other. She noticed that Don was not dancing.

“He was just talking to some of the guys, but he kept on looking at me and looking at me,” said Koula.

“Why aren’t you dancing?” said Koula as she walked over to him.

“I don’t know how,” Don had replied.

“‘Let me teach you.’ I got him out there and we danced, and that is how we met,” said Koula with a smile.

What was it about him that made him stick out from the other soldiers?

“He needed someone. I felt like he needed someone to bring him out of being so shy,” said Koula.

The pair began dating, taking walks around Boston, drinking tea and hot chocolate, with her nieces serving as their chaperones.

They were engaged after four months of dating, sometimes long distance, with Don serving in the Navy.

Her parents, being 100% Greek, had their hearts set on Koula marrying a Greek man.

“We just kind of threw it on them,” Koula said of announcing their engagement.

“I was helping out at my dad’s store and he saw the ring. We hadn’t told them that we’re engaged,” she laughed.

Her mom, equally as surprised, called Koula’s sisters to share the news. When Koula got home that night, three of the six sisters were waiting, she recalled.

One of her sisters was married to an Orthodox priest. “‘I like him, Koula, and I think he will make a very good husband for you,'” she remembered being told by the priest, her brother-in-law.

“So that was it, he agreed and it was OK,” said Koula.

He not only agreed but would perform their wedding.

The pair would go on to have two daughters and a son, who then gave them five grandchildren. They moved around the country for work — Koula as a seamstress and insurance agent, and Don as an electrician.

After retiring at the age of 56, the couple traveled the country in their 36-foot fifth wheel RV and the world by airplane and cruises, visiting 49 countries, before settling in Montoursville to be close to family.

What is the best part of this couple being married for seven decades?

“Well most of the time, he just takes the orders,” said Koula with a laugh. “Don is a very easy going man,” added Koula.

“Well she gave me three wonderful children. I think probably the best three kids in the world,” said Don proudly.

“I think trust and companionship played a big part. Trustworthiness, it was a big factor, and of course she was good looking,” said Don with a grin.

Today, the couple, both 91 years old, reside in Williamsport, where Koula stays busy with the activities at their senior living community, and Don is content with the peace and quiet.

“I love him. I told him he’s not going anywhere without me,” said Koula with a smile.