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Mary and Steve Zabala are stationed side by side on their couch, flipping through pages of photos from their wedding album. Steve is in the corner next to a side table of pills, water and his guilty pleasure snack: Dunkaroos. Mary sits in the middle, pointing to photos in the album and naming details about her dress and the ceremony.

Even now, decades after their wedding day, the Zabalas are still leading the faith-filled, married life they started back in 1951. On Sept. 17, the couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary, a milestone few are lucky to observe. 

“We’ve had a wonderful life, the two of us,” Mary said. “The things we were able to do.”

Mary, 88, and Steve, 99, have spent a lifetime laying down roots in Saratoga Springs. The two raised all five of their children in their home (with only one bathroom for the whole crew) and attended the same church they got married in: St. Clement’s.

“They’ve got a lot of people cheering for them,” said their daughter, Patti Di Stasio.

The couple rang in their anniversary with a special blessing at their parish, followed by a boat tour of Saratoga Lake with a handful of their family. With five children, 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren it’s hard to corral everyone together, but many came through for their jubilee.

After the busy day, the couple returned home, back to the same house they purchased a year after getting married. It was the perfect home location-wise, being just barely a block down the street from St. Clement’s. The top of the church and school can be seen from their front yard, and all five of their children — Stephen, Gerard, Robert, Mary-Anne and Patti — went through St. Clement’s before going on to Saratoga Central Catholic School. 
Faith has always been a part of their lives. Prayers before dinner and bed and church on Sunday. All three of their sons were altar boys, and the nuns at St. Clement’s knew they could always call the Zabala kids to help set up chairs or close the church.

And many priests nearby were frequent visitors to their house, stopping over for coffee or a water break on their walks. St. Clement’s was once home to a nursing-care facility for the religious. Additionally, many retired priests sought housing in the complex and many became friends of the family.

“We have an open-door policy,” Di Stasio laughed.

Bishop Ronald Gerard Connors, who served as priest at St. Clement’s from 1972-76, was particularly close with the Zabala family. He came by for dinners and took the children out for ice cream. Even after moving away, whenever he came back to visit, he would stay with the Zabalas. As Mary said, “There was always room at the inn.”

“He became a part of the family,” Di Stasio said. She recalled once when her family was going through hard times, Bishop Connors came over and took care of her and her siblings. “He made sure the bills were paid,” she said. “He was an extension of the family, he was that close.”
Mary said it was their faith that helped carry her family through when times weren’t so perfect: “Our faith was so strong and got us through. Everything wasn’t hunky-dory all the time. We had children that needed us and were ill, and we got through those things.”

Born in Lake Placid, Mary grew up in Saratoga. Steve wasn’t too far away, growing up in Greenfield Center, though he spent some of his childhood in parts of New York City.

After graduating high school, Mary started working at a local phone company. Steve was back in the area working at the Watervliet Arsenal after serving as a pilot during World War II. The two met in 1949 when Mary needed a ride home from work and her friend suggested Steve give her a lift. On the way back, he asked her to the movies, although the two ended up going on a much different first date. Mary’s mother insisted on meeting the man who wanted to date her daughter, and all three went to the St. Clement’s grotto to pray.

Their first date set the tone for their faithful lives to come. “Look at the two of us: married for 70 years in that church, and we still go to that church! You don’t hear that,” Mary said.

The Zabalas were active volunteers at the parish, helping with the annual New Year’s Eve party. The whole family attended each year, helping set up for the party. 

“I remember dad was up on the scaffolding putting up balloons,” Di Stasio said, which would drop all at once at midnight.
If they weren’t helping out at the party, the two were hitting the dance floor. “He’s the best dancer that you’ll ever dance with,” Mary smiled. “The jitterbug to anything.”

Outside of their hometown, the Zabalas loved to travel, visiting Alaska, Bermuda, Hawaii, and traveling cross country through the U.S. A favorite spot of theirs was Myrtle Beach, S.C., where Steve would frequent the many golf courses back in the day, and even got a hole-in-one.

Now, the two are focusing on their next adventure: time at home with their family, friends and faith.

“I think our best advice would be to be patient with each other,” Mary said. “Just having patience with each other, and we never went to bed angry. We didn’t always agree, but we worked things out.”

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