MARYSVILLE – Charles and Myrna Ackley have been married for 70 years, but that’s not even the best part of their story.

They met in third grade.

Charles, 88, and Myrna, 87, were high school sweethearts. They were married in Feather Falls, CA, on March 17, 1948.

After ending a bible college in Arizona, they came to Seattle on a mission with Marine Medical to help the tribes, including Tulalip.

Charles skippered the Nunivak going from tribe to tribe up the coast from Seattle to Alaska in the 1950s. They lived on the reservation for a couple of years.

They moved to Marysville in 1961 to raise their four children: Dwight and Doug Ackley, Dennyse Obana and Debbie Whitis. They now have eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

They now live in Lincoln, Mont. They retired there, and Charles became the trail boss for the Race to the Sky dogsled race. They said the secret to marriage is patience.