MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Every Friday, John and Jerry Carroll visit their local McDonald’s in Middle Tennessee, enjoying breakfast with friends.
That sounds ordinary until one realizes that John is 101 years old, while his wife is 100.
The couple celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary on April 18, WTVF reported. They are still independent, live in their own home and make weekly treks for breakfast to the Golden Arches in Murfreesboro.
“We have breakfast down here every Friday morning with our friends,” John Carroll told the television station.
Their order has remained the same for years.
“For breakfast we usually eat the Egg McMuffin with sausage,” John Carroll told WTVF.
The couple used to eat breakfast at the McDonald’s every day for years, but because they no longer can drive, they have limited their visits to Fridays, “Today” reported.
Their son drives them to the fast-food restaurant, and Jerry Carroll gets her hair done near the restaurant, according to the news magazine website.
“We just love them,” Christina Crisp, the general manager at the McDonald’s where the Carrolls eat each week, told WTVF. “They’ve been here for a long time.”
John Carroll and Gerald “Jerry” Griggs both attended East Nashville High School. The couple became engaged soon after John was discharged from the U.S. Army. He had served 2 1/2 years, including a 14-month stint in the Philippines, according to newspaper archives.
They were married at the North Edgefield Baptist Church in Nashville.
According to the 1950 census, the couple, along with their first child, Betty, lived in Nashville, where John Carroll worked as a driver-salesman for a wholesale mill company.
The couple remains active.
John Carroll is preparing to travel to Louisiana in September to visit the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, “Today” reported.
Eighty years is a long time to be married, but John Carroll has a simple formula for a successful marriage.
‘Treat your wife nice and try to help her all you can and work hard," he told WTVF.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is also important.
“You’ve got to work hard and work every day and eat well and go to the doctor twice a year,” John Carroll told “Today.”
“Eat a well-balanced diet and exercise as much as you can, keep in touch with your friends,” Jerry Carroll told the news outlet. “(We’re) just taking it day by day, and we’ve been very blessed.”