Sixty years is a long time to be married. And no matter what generation you come from, chances are you probably don’t know a whole lot of people who have managed it.
Charles “Lala” Evans and his wife Louise of Starkville, Mississippi were looking forward to their celebration in 2011.
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They had managed to maintain their love and their friendship over all that time.
“The first time I met Miss Louise…never shall forget it. We met eye-to-eye, you know? And that must have been love at first sight,” he fondly recalled.
Evans had created a shrine to their relationship, proud of those decades of happiness and all the hundreds of vivid memories he had created and recorded with his wife.
It was something they had always intended to do together.
“Everywhere we went, we took pictures,” Mr. Evans said. “We had talked about it…we want to build a museum to put these pictures in.”
But Louise would never see the romantic gesture.
Sadly, she passed away from a heart attack just one month before their 60th wedding anniversary.
“We didn’t get a chance to do that, but the idea never left my mind,” he said of the museum. “And so I said ‘I’m going to do it anyway.’”
And boy did he!
“Louise and LaLa Land” is an entire unit of its own on the Evans property, full of photos and mementos of a life well-lived.
In it, you can find hundreds of photos – beginning when the pair was in 10th grade! – as well as records with the songs they danced to, trinkets from their days as high school sweethearts, and plenty of reminders of their wedding at just 18-years-old.
Music and dancing happened to be a big part of the couple’s life. Mr. Evans taught his wife to dance and they never stopped.
He told TODAY that his favorite object in Louise and LaLa Land is a photo of the couple’s last dance together. It sits right near the door so it’s the last thing he sees when he walks out after a visit.
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Creating the “museum” really allowed the grieving widower to see how much they had accomplished.
With their lives laid out like that, he could take in just how joyous their years together had been.
“Now, I can see even more of the beauty in our life,” he told TODAY. “I can reflect and say, ‘Wow, we lived.’”
He even allowed the public to come in, which they did in droves once they heard about the sweet gesture. Entrance to the “museum” is free and if Mr. Evans is around, you might even get a dance lesson.
“If someone wants to stop by and dance with me around it, I’ll dance with them,” he said.
Mr. Evans’ beautiful gesture even inspired the band Mutemath, which made a video for their song “Monument” at the property.
In it, Evans dances through Louise and LaLa Land reenacting memories with Louise.
Nearly a decade later, the museum is still there.
Mr. Evans’ Instagram page still showcases the memories as well as photos of visitors and the media attention he’s received for his act of love over the years.
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For more details about their beautiful story, be sure to scroll down below for an interview with LaLa Evans.
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Source: Instagram – @mrlalaevans, Facebook – Charles LaLa Evans, Facebook – Great Big Story, TODAY
H/t: InspireMore
