Grand Terrace Couple Celebrates 60 Years of Marriage

GRAND TERRACE>> Friday, June 10 marks the 60th anniversary of Don and Marlene Ritz of Riverside. The couple celebrates not only sixty years of marriage, but sixty years of running Fair Price Carpets in Riverside. Don, who is originally from North Dakota met Marlene in 1957 at a drive-in in Riverside, California. “She had coal black hair that looked real nice,” Don said of his initial impression of Marlene. Working for a stock broker at the time, Marlene described Don as something of a “smooth talker" and the couple soon began dating. “We went to Huntington Beach a lot,” Marlene said of their early relationship. “Or we’d go to her house and sit on the porch swing," Don said. After a couple years of dating, Don asked Marlene to marry him. On June 10, 1957, the two were wed in Riverside, California. Don and Marlene moved into a rental house owned by Marlene’s father. It was there that Don and Marlene's carpet business first got off the ground. “I didn't have a warehouse. I had a garage. You had to climb over the carpet to get to the back of the garage," Don said when describing the early days of running Fair Price Carpets. Things began to move very fast after that. The couple moved into a place of their own, and it was not long before their family of two became a family of three and then four. “We were always doing something, trips and vacations” said daughter Kim Quinn of Moreno Valley, when describing her childhood. As time went on, Don and Marlene's business became more and more successful. Marlene and Don worked as a team to manage the business. Marlene dealt with the books while Don dealt with warehouse matters and the suppliers. “Marlene was a hard worker,” Don said. “She was the smart one.” Don and Marlene would eventually go on to become grandparents. Their grand-children, Krystal Gonzales of Colton and Kurt Ritz of Riverside, third generation who now work for the company Don and Marlene started all those years ago, had nothing but praise for their grand-parents. "They have always been the foundation of this family and have always been there for us" Krystal Gonzales said. “They built an empire. They lived the American dream,” Kurt Ritz added. Don and Marlene also have great grand children, Alyssa Tolson of Grand Terrace, from their late granddaughter Kayla Tolson and Ryan Gonzales of Colton from Krystal Gonzales. Soon, the couple would go on trips that would take them much further than Huntington Beach. “We’ve traveled all over. We’ve been to Spain, Ireland, Alaska, France, Jamaica and more,” Marlene said. The Ritz’s now live in a house in Highgrove, Riverside California, where they have lived for the last 28 years. “It’s been a good life,” Don said. “Marriage is a lot of hard work, but if you don’t work, you don’t have anything.” Fair Price Carpets now employs close to 50 employees and are all treated like family, with some employees that have been with company for almost 40 years. Office staff and installers have been greatly appreciated over the years for helping make the company strive Don and Marlene have always been so helpful to the community and those who have lived here. Everyone knows them and they have helped many.