With Morse High School’s 70th reunion coming up in June, Warren and Frances Rogers, graduates of the class of 1945, sat in their Bath home, reminiscing and sharing past memories on a recent afternoon.

Warren and Frances, who will both be 88 years old this year, started dating their senior year in high school and have been married for 64 years.

“It all goes by so fast,” Frances mused.

When asked to describe their longlasting marriage, which is oftentimes a rarity in this day and age, Frances said their years together have been “hectic, but worthwhile.”

“I think if you’ve been married this long, you’d better have a sense of humor,” she added with a laugh. “It’s necessary.”

Warren, or “Smudge” as everyone calls him, enlisted in the Army shortly after graduation and came back in 1948 before returning for duty at the start of the Korean War. He and Frances were married by 1950 and lived in Massachusetts for a while where Warren trained recruits for the Korean War. They eventually returned to Bath to settle down and build their home.

Warren, who was born in Winnegance, Phippsburg, worked at Bath Iron Works for 21 years before becoming a messenger for City Hall in Bath for another 21 years. After studying nursing in college, Frances went on to be a nurse at Bath Memorial Hospital for 10-12 years, and then served as the director of nursing for 17 years. Her job kept her busy, but she was able to raise four children at the same time, one of whom they unfortunately lost to leukemia in 1994.

They currently have five grandchildren and one great-grandchild, who is 2 years old.

“They’re more knowledgeable, they wander and learn so much more,” said Frances, after thinking about her grandchildren.

She noted that children in the community have much more freedom these days, as she and Warren recalled the fire whistle that blew every night at quarter of 9, warning playing children that there was 15 minutes before they had to be home.

“Your folks would be worried if you weren’t home by then,” she added.

Although the couple is fairly well traveled, Frances said she enjoys Bath because of the “climate and the people — it’s home,” she said. “We like it and we just never moved out.”

When asked about the harsh winter this year, Frances had a surprising response to all the snow: “It was just beautiful. I really liked it.”

Warren still shovels the driveway in the winter, and still tries to remain active. According to their eldest daughter Morgan Callan Rogers, better known as “Patty,” Warren used to walk from their home on Crawford Drive to the city dump and back, which was three miles, and picked up litter from the side of the road, for which he received a commendation. He also coached Little League and played golf at the Bath Country Club.

“It keeps you going,” Warren said, emphasizing the importance of being active.

At 69, Frances learned how to drive when Warren was diagnosed with glaucoma and macular degeneration and gave up his license in 1996. She would practice driving down the road by Oak Grove Cemetery and drove her husband until Frances expereienced a stroke six years ago. Although things seem to be slowing down for the Bath couple, the two still live independently in their home and are still engaged in the community.

“They have a pretty broad network of people who just love them to death,” said Morgan. “They’re home together and they’re healthy, and I’m feeling blessed because of that. We’re lucky to have them.”

Both Warren and Frances are looking forward to attending the 70th reunion next month, and Frances was grateful to the Alumni Association for the opportunity to keep in touch with old friends and meet new people over the years.

Although she suspects there won’t be more than 10 people from their class at the reunion, she said that their graduating class had been very close to each other.

“Hold onto your old friends,” she advised with a smile.

dkim@timesrecord.com