Hoffman Estates couple shares secret to lasting love ahead of 70th wedding anniversary

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (WLS) -- As we celebrate Valentine's Day Wednesday, one couple is defining lasting love.

A couple in Hoffman Estates will soon mark an incredible seven-decade milestone, proving enduring love still exists.

Janet Brown recalled seeing her husband Marvin Brown for the first time.

"I thought he was so handsome," Janet said. "I fell in love with him immediately."

The couple were married in 1954 while Marvin was in the army, at the end of the Korean War.

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"When I first saw Janet, her smile, I was hooked," Marvin said. "I was absolutely hooked."

The couple has seen the world turn in their seven decades married together, running a business as partners, adopting two children and being steadfast through Marvin's diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at age 40.

"It was very scary, but we pulled through that," Marvin said. "We worked through that, we managed it again together. Every once in a while I get a problem, but nothing that Janet can't handle."

Next week, Janet and Marvin will celebrate an incredibly-rare 70th wedding anniversary.

"We've done everything humanly possible...together," Janet said. "It makes me feel so safe... so comfortable, so happy that I have him."

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On this Valentine's Day, they said the secret to their enduring love is mutual respect, admiration and compromise.

"You have to be a team," Janet said. "You have to work as a team. You have to work together, not against each other, if you have disagreements. They have to be more like debates. The love and respect that you have between the two of you works overall everything. I mean, it conquers everything. It's the love that's so important."