HAINES CITY, Fla. (WFLA) – A lifetime of golf, dancing and love began on a New Jersey beach.

“I asked for her phone number and I remembered the number,” said Vic Gerard, 101.

Gerard rode buses and trains to see the new lady in his life, Marge. During wartime, they sent letters.

On April 25, 1943, they became husband and wife, becoming the Gerards.

Over eight decades, as the world changed around them, they had each other.

“We did everything together. We played golf together. We danced together. We played cards together and we watched TV together,” said Marge Gerard, 98.

The couple have six children, 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

“It’s a real love story. Love at first sight,” said their daughter, Tery Michaud. “I’m a marriage counselor. They have been my inspiration for believing in marriage.”

To their daughters, their lifelong love story is one of gratefulness and being content.

“They could have lived a more extravagant life if they chose but they didn’t. What was important to them was their kids, their family, each other, golf and dancing,” said their daughter, Linda Donofrio.

Golf and dancing comes up a lot with these two. It’s one way the 98-year-old and 101-year-old say they stayed active all these years.

“I played a lot of golf, which is a lot of walking, and we did a lot of dancing,” said Vic Gerard.

Marge still calls Vic the “most wonderful man in the world.”

When asked the secret to a long, happy marriage, Vic Gerard replied: “Being lucky, being honest and take care of each other.”