Tampa couple explains secret to 60 years of marriage

TAMPA (FOX 13) - When you think of Valentine's Day, flowers, cards, and chocolates come to mind. For Gabriel and Margaret Ramant it means a lot more. 

"I just said, 'my God, that's the gal for me,'" Gabriel Ramant explained.

He said Cupid's arrow struck him when he first saw his wife Margaret.

"I said to my buddy, 'you see that girl in the pink sweater? That's the gal. I am going to marry her,'" Ramant remembered.

Now, more than 60 years later, they are still together.

"That was pure love at first sight," Ramant said.

They first met in high school. They became sweethearts. Gabriel enlisted in the Army at 18.

Mary waited four years while Gabriel was overseas. They got married when he returned home in 1954.

He was 22 and she was 20.

"I think it has been a wonderful journey," Margaret Ramant said.

The best advice Margaret said she can give young couples today:

"You got to work at a marriage. You got to work and help each other and support each other," Margaret explained.

That's what they do every day., and Sunday is the anniversary of the commitment they made to one another more than 60 years ago.

"We got engaged on Valentine's Day. Gabe gave me this ring and it's been reset twice, but it is still the same diamond that he gave me in 1952," Margaret added.

It was meant to be the first time he set eyes on her.

"My maiden name is Valentine," Margaret said.

Love is at the heart of their commitment.

"Be loving, be hugging," Gabriel said.

"He really loves to hug," Margaret added.

They said, kisses aren't bad either.