- Date Of Birth: July 20, 1911
- Date Of Death: September 12, 2018
- State: Connecticut
John George Betar, Sr., 107, of Fairfield, CT, died of old age on September 12 in Trumbull, CT, surrounded by his wife of 85 years, other loving family, and devoted caregivers.
Born in Soueidieh, Syria (now Samandag, Turkey), on July 20, 1911, to George Michael Betar and Mary Bal, John immigrated to the United States as a ten-year-old with his older brother, Michael George Betar. After a long journey by boat, they landed in Providence, RI, and eventually reunited with their father in Bridgeport, CT. John attended Prospect School through the eighth grade and then began peddling fruit along Connecticut’s Gold Coast in the 1920s. He also played baseball for the Polish Falcon League. Around 1930 he met the love of his life, a Bassick High School student named Ann Shawah. Ann’s hand had been promised to a distant relation, but John and Ann were determined to be together. They eloped on November 25, 1932, in Harrison, NY, much to the surprise of some relatives, who exclaimed, “This marriage will never last.” Just after their 80th wedding anniversary in 2012, John and Ann were honored by the Worldwide Marriage Encounter as one of America’s longest married couples. The Betars celebrated their 85th wedding anniversary in November 2017, and prior to John’s passing, they were thought to be the world’s longest living married couple.
