Carla Sue & Brad Broecker

Carla Sue was 14 years old the first time she met Brad, the man who would eventually become her husband. Younger by a month (“I always liked younger men,” she said), the teenage magician loaded up his rabbits, a monkey and a dove to accompany his minister to the country to perform a “magic show for the deprived children,” recalled The Voice-Tribune’s Partyline columnist. “We were best friends for years before I guess we fell in love,” said Carla Sue.

The pair married Nov. 25, 1961, and just celebrated 50 years of marriage – make that 50 years of a marriage filled with more tales, laughter and interesting people than most people could even dream of. The ardent supporters of the arts have stories that range from encounters with Cicely Tyson and Michael Jackson to getting drunk with Margaret Thatcher’s husband.

The Broeckers live in a gorgeous home with a museum-worthy collection of pottery – each piece with its own story – that have been purchased from all manner of sources, including The Goodwill Store. “Brad never collected anything in his life until we started going to England,” said Carla Sue, “and then he was like a drunken sailor. Now he’s a bigger collector than I am. Or he enables me.”

Aside from a shared passion for collecting, the two love to travel together. They also commit time to various charitable endeavors and, of course, are a lively part of the social scene. But spend a few moments with the couple and you’ll easily see their recipe for five fabulous decades of marriage is really quite simple at its core.

“We disagree now and then, but then we sort of forget about it,” said Brad.

“We never have fights,” Carla Sue added. “I think that’s because we like each other.”

“Oh yeah. We’re best friends,” Brad said.

“I think there’s nobody I’d rather spend time with,” Carla Sue said.

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Category: In Tandem