True Love is in the Heart

CAROLYN AND GEORGE MOORE SHARE THEIR KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE

text by ELLEN ORR | photo by MOLLY MINTER

An education power couple, Carolyn and George Moore have touched the lives of countless Texarkana students over the last five decades. George has been an educator for 48 years, having previously been the Texas Middle School principal and now holding the position of TISD’s Assistant Superintendent for Alternative Education. Equally impressive, Carolyn served K-12 students as a professional school counselor for 38 years before recently retiring. The strength of character that a long tenure in education requires is also the trait that drew the two together 43 years ago and has held their marriage together ever since.

In June 1974, George and Carolyn met at the Juvenile Detention Center. “I love to joke that I got her out of the Juvenile Center, where I worked as an intake officer,” George laughed. “Actually, she was finishing her degree at Prairie View A&M University and was doing her internship there.” The attraction was immediate.

“I found him to be genuine, honest, and an immaculate dresser,” Carolyn remembered of her now-husband. “George was an industrious and hardworking man, holding down two night jobs as he taught school during the day. I fell in love with his smile and the way he looked at me.”

Similarly, George was drawn to “Carolyn’s intelligence, strong desire to be successful, love for God, and her spunkiness. Also,” he added, “she was easy to look upon!”

After a short six-month courtship, they were wed on December 22, 1974, at Polly Chapel Baptist Church. Since that day, the couple has, of course, experienced hardship and turmoil (though George insists that “the most challenging part of being married is deciding what and where to eat”), but when weathering storms, they’ve never doubted the strength of their roots. “We can’t remember going to bed angry, but all conflicts have surely not been solved before going to bed,” Carolyn said. “We just know that any conflict will eventually be forgotten or buried the next day because we know how deeply our love is grounded in each other. Discord cannot exist and remain for long when true love is in the heart.”

Carolyn and George were married December 22, 1974, at Polly Chapel Baptist Church. 

When asked about the key to successful marriage, George cites 1 Corinthians 7:3: “Let the husband render unto his wife due benevolence; and likewise also the wife unto the husband.” The Moores take this verse seriously: the benevolence they share is clear.

“After 43 years of marriage, we don’t need a lot of romance,” George said. “However, it is nice to hear the words, ‘I love you as much today as yesterday.’ We always try to do things together, if it is nothing more than grocery shopping together.”

“We shadow each other all the time,” Carolyn echoed. “We are usually holding hands. When we watch television, we sit next to each other on our sofa that seats 10 people. Each and every day of our marriage is a pleasant surprise,” she continued. “Just to wake up knowing he’s there for me, in sickness and in health, to protect me and to care for me, is truly a blessing.”