[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 153 (Thursday, September 21, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING ARKANSAS' LONGEST MARRIED COUPLE

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                          HON. BRUCE WESTERMAN

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 21, 2023

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, many people are familiar with the passage 
of scripture found in First Corinthians Chapter 13, verse 4, ``Love is 
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not 
proud.'' However, fewer may remember verse 5 which states that love 
``always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.'' 
When the apostle Paul was inspired to write these words so many years 
ago, I believe he had persevering and loving couples like Cleovis and 
Arwilda Whiteside in mind. Since 2019, the Whitesides have been 
recognized as Arkansas' ``Longest Married Couple.'' This Sunday, 
September 24, 2023, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, they are being recognized 
for their 84th year of marriage.
  On what I am sure was a hot and humid Monday, July 24, 1939, 17-year-
old Cleovis and 13-year-old Arwilda made a lifetime commitment to God 
and each other that has endured the test of time. The next year, Mrs. 
Whiteside delivered the first of their 12 children. In an interview 
last year, Mr. Whiteside, who was 100 at the time, stated, ``We've been 
together all this long time and I still love my wife. She still loves 
me, and we still get along just as good.'' Mrs. Whiteside added, ``I 
ran to him since I was nine years old and I've run first to God, then 
him ever since.'' We find within these 2 statements the foundation of a 
strong, Christ-centered marriage that inspires me and countless people, 
in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, and the entire state of Arkansas.
  At the end of the 13th chapter of Corinthians, Paul tells us that 
when all is complete, 3 things remain: ``faith, hope, and love. But the 
greatest of these is love.'' I offer my most sincere congratulations to 
Mr. Cleovis and Mrs. Arwilda Whiteside on their 84 years of marriage. I 
thank them for exemplifying the greatest gift of persevering love.

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