John "Jack" and Irene Lemponen will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary May 11. They have lived in Maple Heights for the last 43 years.
He met the former Irene Gouhin on a blind date that was arranged by a mutual friend. They were married on May 11, 1957, in Ashtabula, Ohio.
They have one daughter, Monica Krasowski, who resides in Bainbridge Township with her husband, Michael, and their twin daughters, Amanda and Hannah.
Jack and Irene were raised in Ashtabula. He attended Ashtabula High School while she went to rival Ashtabula Harbor High School.
Jack became the 100,000th graduate of The Ohio State University when he graduated in 1955.
In 2005, he was honored at his 50th anniversary reunion. Archie Griffin, two-time Heisman Trophy winner and president of the university's alumni association, acknowledged him.
Both are retired. He was a business accountant/controller. She worked in retail and later as a bank teller in the Bedford-Garfield Heights area.