Everett and Bettie Rooks celebrate 50th anniversary

Everett Allen and Bettie Davis Rooks of Lexington are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married July 31, 1966, at Grace Lutheran Church in Gilbert.

They have a son, Allen, and daughter-in-law, Kelli, and two grandchildren, Nathan and Bellamy.

In her own words

Bettie tells the story of their courtship and wedding:

“I went to work for Southeastern Freight Lines in May of 1964 and Everett already worked there. We worked almost side by side for 3 1/2 months before he even began to notice me. He asked me for a date to go to the Labor Day Darlington 500 Races and we dated steadily from then on. He went to serve his six months active duty with the Army in October of 1964 and got out in April of 1965. We still were dating.

“He gave me my ring on Christmas Eve of 1965, and I went home with him on Christmas Day to meet his family. We set our wedding date originally for June 26, 1966 but as usual the Army had more say-so than I did. We again set our wedding for July 31, 1966 at 4 o’clock at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Gilbert, South Carolina.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2016 at 12:01 AM with the headline "Everett and Bettie Rooks celebrate 50th anniversary."