In 1974, Joe and Helen Hesketh's rocky marriage was saved because of a weekend marriage retreat. The special skill they learned that weekend has been used every day since.

The 81-year-old Seattle couple has been writing love letters to each other every day for 40 years.

For those of you doing the math in your head, that's more than 29,000 letters between the two of them.

"(The letters) are one page in a notebook and always start with a prayer of some sort," Joe said. "Then I look to tell Helen something special I noticed about her today and she does the same."

The first letters were written Feb. 22-24,1974 at a marriage retreat.

"When we write, he can't interrupt me," Helen said. "When it's written you can't erase it. How I'm feeling and everything I'm thinking about, it's right there."

The couple will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in June.

"Marriage is a lifelong process," Joe said. "We're still working on it."

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez