Marc and Nancy Sokolik will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary August 13, 2014. They met as students at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. 

As Marc tells the story, they were at separate tables at the Merry-Go-Round Restaurant in 1959 when a ZBT fraternity brother of Marc’s mentioned that he could not get a date with the petite blond at the next table. 

Marc said he could and his fraternity brother said he would bet five dollars that he could not get a date with Nancy. Marc drove Nancy back to her apartment and the next day they were a couple. 

Marc said he never collected the five-dollar bet, but that 50 years later, it is still the best investment he ever made. 

The Sokoliks have a son Michael and a daughter Kim who both have two children. Grandsons Justin, 17 and Cameron, 15 are Kim’s sons and Michael has a daughter Madison who is 12 and a son Maxwell who is 10. They all reside in St. Louis. Taking advantage of the great winters in St. Louis, the Sokoliks have spent the last 13 years in Arizona from November through April. 

Incidentally, the number 13 is their lucky number as they met February 13, 1959 and were married August 13, 1964.