Couple leans on faith, family through 75 years of marriage

Every Sunday after Mass, Joe and Larri Caniglia have hosted big family gatherings at the house they bought near 67th and Grover streets in Omaha in 1954.

And for years, on one night every week, near the light switch with the Our Father and the font of holy water in the living room, Larri and seven of her children knelt down to pray the rosary while Joe was at work.

The two things that brought everyone together – family and faith – have remained ever-present in their lives. Even as Omaha changed around the family home – going from farmland outside city limits to an urban area in the city’s eastern half – the Caniglias have enjoyed one more constant: each other.

On June 2, Joe and Larri celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary and became a rarity – one of just 1,000 American couples at any given time to reach that marriage milestone. The couple met at a dance at the old St. John High School in Omaha when Joe was 18 and Larri was 16. They got engaged on Easter Sunday in 1951, and were married shortly thereafter.

They’ve both grown up and grown old together.

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Reaching such a milestone requires a little bit of give and take, Larri said, along with plenty of kindness.

“It’s 50-50 once in a while, but it’s mostly 90-10 or 80-20, something like that,” she said. “Just go day by day, do what you do, and be nice to each other.”

Communication has helped, Joe said. “That’s so easy, just talk to each other.”

In their three-quarters of a century of marriage, the Caniglias had nine children (losing two at birth), 20 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren.

Many of those family members are now nearing their own marriage milestones, too.

“All the grandkids, they all say that you guys are their role models,” said their daughter Lynda Turnquist. “‘Relationship goals’ is what they say.”

The Caniglias are pictured with their grandchildren. COURTESY PHOTO

Joe and Larri, now 94 and 92, respectively, were founding members of St. Joan of Arc Parish in central Omaha, attending Mass at the long-gone Ranch Bowl before the church opened its doors in 1958. Turnquist and six of her siblings matriculated through the school.

The Caniglias have since returned to their roots by becoming parishioners at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in the Little Italy neighborhood of Omaha. Even though they may not make it to Mass in person every week, Larri said, she’s grateful for the parish’s livestream – which has become a fixture.

Over the years, Christmas Eve Mass has been particularly important for the couple and their family.

“Christmas Eve Mass, that was a huge Mass for us,” Larri said. “I would go there at 3 o’clock – Mass was at 4 – and I would save two pews.”

Larri and Joe Caniglia participate in Mass at St. Frances Cabrini Church in Omaha. COURTESY PHOTO

In Joe’s home neighborhood, they also remain active in bocce ball and the Sons of Italy organization, volunteering to help make several hundred meals a week during the group’s pasta season. Both Joe and Larri are also devoti for the annual Santa Lucia festival, an honor that allows them to be near and help guard the relic of St. Lucy during the celebration.

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“They’re the kind of people that if somebody asks for something that needs to be done, they’re the first in line,” Turnquist said. “They always offer to do the cooking, bringing all the food and stuff; they’ve instilled that into us.”

The Caniglias are still going strong, even into their 90s, a decade that still resembles their earlier married years in many ways.

Larri still prays a rosary at night at least weekly, if not more frequently, even though Joe is no longer working. And the Sunday dinners? Still going strong, too.

The only problem is that, after 75 years of marriage, the kitchen table just isn’t big enough for everyone to celebrate at the Caniglias’ home at once. No worries, though – they visit in waves, surrounding Joe and Larri with loved ones for even longer on Sundays.

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