Promises kept: Windham couple celebrates 70th wedding anniversary

By Ed Pierce

Joan and Arthur Wickham of Windham were married at
Holy Cross Catholic Church in South Portland on Aug. 18, 1951
and they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with a
pontoon boat cruise on Sebago Lake with family members
last weekend. SUBMITTED PHOTO

They say celebrating a wedding anniversary is a fleeting moment, but that a loving marriage is timeless. For one longtime married couple from Windham, Wednesday, Aug. 18 marked a significant milestone in their relationship as they marked 70 years of marriage.

Arthur Wickham was born in Portland and was living there in 1950 when he took a big chance and went out on a blind date with a girl named Joan Sincyr who had just moved to South Portland from Skowhegan. Something romantically clicked on that blind date for the two teenagers, and they continued dating for another year-and-a-half before Arthur eventually decided to propose to Joan.

She accepted Arthur’s proposal and they were married on Aug. 18, 1951, at Holy Cross Catholic Church in South Portland, and have been together ever since.

Arthur Wickham, now 89, worked as a medical supply and medical devices salesman and later as an executive for the George C. Frye Company in Portland, and he also served in the U.S. Army Reserves, rising to the rank of colonel before retiring in 1992.

He attended Casco Bay College and graduated with a degree in business administration and management and has been active in many fraternal and veteran’s organizations through the years. He served as a department commander for the American Veterans in Maine (AMVETS), the state president of the Association of the United States Army and the Reserve Officer’s Association, and Arthur also completed studies from the U.S. Army Command and General College and the Air War College. 

When he’s not heavily involved in veteran’s issues and organizations, Arthur Wickham can be found working in the yard and still cuts his own grass and maintains the couple’s property as he has done for all of the years they have lived in Windham.          

Joan Wickham, now 88, worked for the Portland Housing Authority as a secretary before her retirement. She is an avid baker and cook, loves to make her own quilts and enjoys going out to play bingo whenever she can find the time to do so.

The couple purchased a home on Collinwood Circle in Windham decades ago, and they raised a family there of five children including, Rick, Deb, Bobbi, Cindi and Mike. Over the years the family has grown and prospered and now includes additional generations including eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Arthur and Joan Wickham still live in the same home today on Collinwood Circle in Windham and remain in good health and are as active in retirement as those some 20 years or younger in age.

To mark the occasion of their 70^th wedding anniversary, the family took Arthur and Joan on a pontoon boat cruise on Sebago Lake last weekend. It’s become a cherished summer tradition for the Wickham Family and an annual way for family members to get together and celebrate Arthur and Joan’s anniversary.

For many years Arthur and Joan Wickham would take the entire family to Bradbury Mountain State Park near Pownal for a fun-filled summer getaway and that included a huge cookout, but that annual event has now shifted to the pontoon boat excursions on the lake.

Christmas celebrations in Windham were always special for Arthur and Joan and the children because Joan’s birthday falls on Dec. 23, so it’s combined holiday party every year because of the proximity of Christmas to Joan’s special day.

When asked their secret to their long and happy marriage, both Arthur and Joan Wickham answered simply.

“It’s all about communication and listening to each other,” they said. <