Cheers to 60 years! Somers couple set to celebrate milestone anniversary

SOMERS, N.Y. - On May 18, 2026, John and Diane Supple will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. They met in the fall of 1963 at Syracuse University, John a sophomore and Diane a freshman. While they continued their relationship, John left SU in 1964 for the working world, and two years later, while Diane was still a student at SU, he joined the United States Marine Corps. Remember, during that era the Vietnam conflict was increasing, and the military draft system was very actively recruiting young men. Knowing that he would probably be getting a “greeting” letter from Uncle Sam soon to come join the party, John didn’t hesitate. On February 5, 1966, he went to the USMC recruiting office and signed on the dotted line. He believed that the USMC offered the best training for him to be able to survive in a combat situation. In May 1966, after the completion of 12 weeks of training at the Marine Corps Recruit Training Depot at Parris Island, SC, John traveled to Syracuse, and he and Diane eloped. Their marriage was at a small church in North Syracuse, NY, as Diane was still in Syracuse. From September 1966 to October 1967, John was a combat Marine in Vietnam.

In January 1968, John was released from active duty to join Diane in Syracuse, where she was actively employed in the sales department at a local TV station. John was fortunate that he returned from the war unscathed, both physically and mentally. He eventually found work in the area as well, pumping gas and doing mechanical work at a Mobil station in East Syracuse. In 1969, Diane became pregnant with their first child. Sadly, the full-term baby girl was stillborn on April 10, 1970. In January of that year, while working at the gas station, a State Trooper friend of John’s, Peter Lucarelli, gave him an NYSP job application form for the statewide test for Trooper to be given at the State Fairgrounds in Syracuse later that year. John took the test, and on June 29, 1970, he was sworn in at the New York State Police Academy in Albany. Four months later, he graduated and was assigned to SP Somers in Westchester County. Diane and John eventually sold their house in Syracuse and moved to Lincolndale.

In February 1971, Diane found out that she was pregnant with triplets. Jennifer, April, and Rachael were born in the early morning hours of April 12, 1971, at the Mt. Kisco Hospital (now known as Northern Westchester Hospital). Fortunately, John and Diane were living with John’s parents at the time, so the extra hands came in handy. Two years later, John and Diane moved into a new home they built on Primrose Street in Lincolndale, where they still reside today. John was with the NYSP for 31 years, retiring on March 30, 2001. He worked out of the Somers station as a road trooper for 24 years, then spent the next seven years at the Troop Headquarters in Millbrook, NY, five of those years as an investigator and Troop K evidence custodian. During that time, John joined the Wilson-Marasco VFW Post in Somers and eventually worked his way up to post commander.

Their children went through the Somers school system from K–12, all graduating with Advanced Placement courses for college credit. April was accepted to Boston University, and Jennifer and Rachael went to Bentley College (now Bentley University). While holding the role of wife, mother, and homemaker, Diane started her 30+ year career in real estate with Coldwell Banker in Somers, where she earned her NYS real estate broker’s license. She eventually transferred to Billingsley Real Estate and retired there from the real estate profession in 2025.

During their lives, Diane and John enjoyed several recreational activities. They purchased a 25’ Sea Ray boat in 1990 and quickly learned that they needed to take some boating courses to be safe boaters. After they took the safe boating course that the United States Power Squadron offered, they decided to join the USPS, a national organization that promotes safe boating through education. Eventually, they both became instructors of safe boating courses and also became officers in the organization; Diane worked up to becoming the Peekskill squadron commander, and John eventually became the USPS District 2 commander. From boating, they graduated to a land yacht—actually two land yachts: first a 38’ Fleetwood Revolution model, then several years later a 40’ American Coach Eagle model. Over the years, they have traveled through 47 of the 48 contiguous states (never found a reason to go to North Dakota) and have crossed the country twice to California, visiting as many national parks along the way as possible. Their Eagle has crossed California’s Golden Gate Bridge. Now, we think it’s time to put a “For Sale” sign in the window, as we’re getting on in age and we’ve traveled to just about everywhere we have wanted to go. This is a big country. There are many interesting and beautiful places to see, and the most comfortable way to do it is in a motorhome. You don’t have to look for motels, restaurants, or bathrooms. You can park overnight while traveling at most rest stops and in the parking lot of most big-box stores—just ask permission first. Once parked, you can open up the four slides, relax on one of the two couches, listen to the Bose surround-sound system, or watch DirecTV via the roof-mounted antenna. Our favorite stop is at Cracker Barrel restaurants, as they have oversized parking spaces in their back parking lot just for RVs. And if you’re tired of cooking in the coach, their meals are pretty good and reasonably priced.

Having been retired for a while, John often tells his younger working friends that while retirement is something we all strive for during our working years, you find out very early on in retirement that your feet need a reason to hit the floor in the morning: a hobby, volunteer work, a part-time job, or something else—any reason to get out of bed. Otherwise, you start leading a very sedentary lifestyle, and any physician will tell you that’s not good. Diane, actually before retirement, learned the art of counted cross-stitch. Throughout the years, she has produced some magnificent pieces of art, beautifully framed, with some behind added museum-quality glass. She has joined several regional and national stitching groups such as the Embroiderers’ Guild of America (EGA) and the American Needlepoint Guild (ANG). John, on the other hand, drives a limo part time, mainly into NYC or to LGA or JFK airports, and also into NJ to Newark or Teterboro airports. Once in a while, there will be a long-distance trip upstate NY or to CT, MA, or PA. He’s even ventured all the way down to Maryland. Retirement is something we are enjoying, especially our grandchildren. One, Matthew, has joined the workforce already, and the other five are still in college. Our oldest granddaughter, Helen, is pursuing her doctorate degree in genetic research at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Ella is a junior at Bentley University in Waltham, MA. Her sister Lily is a freshman at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. Matthew’s stepbrother Luke is a freshman at UMass Boston in Boston, MA, and Helen’s sister Marie is a freshman at Northeastern University at their Oakland, CA campus. She’ll be back at their Boston campus for her sophomore year.

Most of the events in any marriage have brought the partners joy, but there will always be times when there is sadness. The first for us was our stillborn baby girl in 1970. On March 28, 2018, April’s husband Martin passed away from heart failure. Then, three years later, on March 24, 2021, our daughter Jennifer (Ken Patria’s wife) passed away from a very rare form of pancreatic cancer. Life certainly has its ups and downs. We feel fortunate to belong to a family that celebrates the good times together and also comes together to comfort each other when the times aren’t so good. Sixty years for us was, and is, a commitment: for better or worse, for richer or poorer, and in sickness and in health. I think we both learned that from our parents’ relationships, and it appears that our children have learned that from us. We’re pretty sure that our grandchildren are also learning this from their parents. Now we can rest in peace; our job is done.