By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
“Our ceremony was held at 11:30 am. Oklahoma is dry and hot in August and all Catholic weddings were performed before noon,” explained Mary Ellen Doyle.
The mercury on the thermometer rose to as high as 99 degrees on August 25, 1956, in Bartlesville Okla., the day Mary Ellen and Charles Doyle became husband and wife.
St John’s Catholic Church was filled with their family and friends. “We were married in my childhood church. We had a wonderful group of friends as attendants for our wedding,” Mary Ellen shared.
After the church ceremony, the wedding party headed over to the country club, where they mingled with their guests and enjoyed traditional wedding delights, including a tiered wedding cake. Then the newlyweds escaped their guests and headed south.
“We drove for quite a while, and when we finally stopped for gas, Chuck showered me with rice,” said Mary Ellen.
Their journey after the wedding was just over 200 miles to Sun Valley, Okla. where they spent several days as honeymooners.
Next stop was Texas City. “Chuck had a job with Union Carbide, so we went from Oklahoma to Texas,” said Mary Ellen.
They have lived in Texas City for nearly all their 65 years of marriage.
There was a year with Charles Doyle needing to fulfill his duties to the armed forces, which was the only time they lived outside of Texas since they arrived.
Since coming to the Texas gulf coast, the Doyle family has grown to currently include 46 members. The newest member is a baby boy named Hudson. The family will grow by one more in a couple weeks when a grandchild is married.
They celebrated their 65th anniversary in the Texas Hill Country surrounded by most of their family members. The newest baby was a wee bit too young for the celebration. “It was a wonderful experience. We celebrated mine and Mary Ellen’s 87th birthday and we have many other family members born in July, so we celebrated all of our birthdays,” said Charles Doyle.
Today — August 25, 2021 — as they celebrate their anniversary, the Doyles look back and are pleased with their lives in Texas City.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better place to live. We have been very blessed. The people here have been fantastic,” said Mary Ellen.
“We are very happy, because of the people here and the opportunities the area has given to us and our children and our children’s children,” said Charles Doyle.
Charles and Mary Ellen Doyle have created an impressive family and they have built a legacy in their professional and philanthropist activities. Most recently they were responsible for donating $1 million to College of the Mainland.
