Linders anniversary 24
Longtime Consumer Couple Share Marriage Tips
Success Stories
Paul and Brenda Linder have been married for nearly a quarter century

They met each other in the late 1980s at the BCS workshop.

The way Brenda remembers it, another consumer pointed out a guy who was sitting by himself and suggested she go talk to him.

So she did. That’s when she made an interesting discovery: “He had a crush on me!”

Brenda said she liked him because he was nice to her. “He was a nice guy and he had a job and everything.” (Paul used to work at Burger King and Reimschisel Ford before retiring.)

Paul said he liked Brenda because “she was kind of sexy.”

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They got married on July 25, 1998, at Sonlight Wesleyan Church, which they attended at the time. At one point they shared a house in Bluffton before eventually moving to a senior citizens' apartment complex on the north side of town.

One of the highlights of their marriage, the couple agrees, was the time they flew on a plane by themselves.

“We went to Seattle to visit my aunt,” Brenda said. “She picked us up at the airport.”

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Another highlight was getting to attend A Night to Shine, the fancy prom event put on by the Tim Tebow Foundation at Hope Missionary church.

The couple has had their ups and downs. If they get upset with each other, Paul says, “She goes to her room and I stay out here.”

“Then when we feel better, we tell each other we’re sorry,” Brenda said. “We love each other. We tell each other ‘I love you’ every day.”

Their advice for other prospective couples contemplating marriage is to listen to your heart.

“If God tells you it’s right, you should get married,” Brenda said. “But you need to act adult. You need to treat each other right.”