By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Smiles as wide as I-45 and wedding day joy continue to radiate from Mary Ellen and Charles Doyle as they approach their 70th anniversary. The couple met at Oklahoma University as juniors — she was studying journalism, and he was focused on economics.
They were married the summer of their graduation on August 25, 1956.
With the ceremony held before noon, the couple spent the afternoon celebrating with family and friends at a reception, which also served as a sendoff party for the newlyweds as they headed off to build a legacy in Texas City, Texas.
Just as the Gulf portion of I-45 is always expanding, the Doyle family is expanding. The year of their 65th anniversary, there were 46 members, including their five children and spouses, grandchildren and spouses, and great-grandchildren.
Since 2021, the family has expanded to 64 members. They are anticipating adding two more by the end of this year: one through a grandchild’s marriage, and another great-grandbaby. Plus, they have another great-grandbaby coming after the first of the year. Their oldest great-grandchild is in 4th grade.
Sitting in their living room, I am struck again by how amazing it is to spend time with two people who are 92 and still so full of life — caught up in their enthusiasm and the gentle swinging of a pendulum between them as I ask a question and they share an answer.
So much of their lives have been lived in the public eye — as the founders of Texas First Bank, and with the twenty years Charles served as mayor of Texas City — that it felt like covering old ground to ask who they are and about their accomplishments would be redundant. What I really wanted to know was why and how they’ve managed to maintain their love and their happiness.
One key to their success is their unity in their faith — for them, it’s not just about being Catholic, but about praying together, Charles explained.
As for their key to happiness, Mary Ellen emphatically declared, “I love being happy and making others happy.”
“She’s made me happy for 70 years,” Charles said, with his eyes fixed on her.
“We are in awe to be going on 70 years married and to still be alive at 92,” Mary Ellen added.
The couple’s focus on love is the theme they shared with me on my first visit and on my most recent visit.
“Love is where it begins and ends and if you don’t have love, you can’t do it,” one of the Doyles started the sentence and the other one finished it. Just like a pendulum, not a beat was missed.
Wrapping up our time together was bittersweet. Charles extended his hands for a warm goodbye and said this might be the last time I would visit them at their home. Mary Ellen insisted on walking me to the front door and gave me one of her warm hugs.
Through our interviews, they’ve taught me more about success than any textbook could — lessons woven into their legacy of leadership, family, faith, art, and community, and into the warm, welcoming way they’ve always made me feel.
As I drove off, I reminded myself that they are only 92, and who knows — I might be back with them in their home for their 75th anniversary in 2031.
