In 1974, a young Bryan Hodges and Phyllis Marshall said their “I do’s” on Valentine’s Day, and now, 50 years later, the couple will be celebrating their Golden Year Anniversary under the magic of Cupid himself.
Phyllis, who was born and raised in Little Rock, and Byron, who found himself in the Capital City in pursuit of further education, found each other in line at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Phyllis, who was a junior at Hall High School, was working at KFC at that time, and Byron was in the middle of college, studying at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
During the ‘70s, there was a lot less technology everywhere, but particularly, the food business looked completely different. As Phyllis found her shifts full of movement, while taking orders with pen and pad and talking to almost every customer, she didn’t have much free time to chit-chat.
However, she did remember her regulars, which included a college student, Byron, who would drive up nearly every day in his convertible Camaro. With shoulder length-blonde hair, a shy smile and a bow-legged walk, Phyllis found him hard to ignore.
“I saw Byron a lot, and he always just looked so cool,” Phyllis said. “I really did not pay anybody any particular attention because they were customers, but on one particular day, my pen was out of ink. He offered to loan me a pen to take his order and he said ‘When you finish taking my order, you can put your phone number down.’”
In Phyllis’ words, she was shocked and giddy with excitement from this string of events.
From that point on, Phyllis said she knew she and Byron would be together, but as a teenager, she did have her concerns about being able to date.
“I gave him the number to the KFC I worked at, and when he called later to ask me out, I told him he would have to ask my mom first,” Phyllis said.
Near the beginning of starting an interracial relationship, Byron quickly called his future mother-in-law, who not only gave him permission, but also told him she had no problem with his being a different race.
“She gave me permission, and I remember pausing and saying ‘well, we may have a problem, I am white,’ and she just said, ‘well, that would be your problem then,’ and we both busted out laughing,” Byron said, explaining that he quickly felt like part of Phyllis’ family.
Byron and Phyllis were more-or-less inseparable during their relationship, and Phyllis’ mom, who had been at all of their hang-outs, was a fan of their relationship and grew to have a strong bond with Bryon.
Knowing that they wanted to get married, Phyllis and Byron were aware that as they were so young, there would not be a big lavish wedding in celebration. However, with their mutual love for holidays, they also knew that Valentine’s Day would make for the perfect backdrop for them to officially tie the knot.
“I wasn’t thinking about anybody but Phyllis on our wedding day,” Byron said, acknowledging that even on the national holiday, his sole focus remained on her.
While Phyllis was excited to enter into a new chapter, she found herself still worried about telling other people, as she knew they were still young.
“Even though I was really nervous, I remembered being so excited to be married to Byron,” Phyllis said. “After the fact, we still didn’t tell a lot of people, because nobody really knew we were married at that particular time and we were a little afraid to share our wonderful, loving news.”
Five decades into the game, and both Byron and Phyllis agree that marriage is a continual learning process. As there have been many lessons learned by both throughout the years, the couple agrees that communication and a God-first marriage are the most important things.
“Keeping God first is so important because no matter how handsome, or how pretty you both are, or how well financially you both are doing in the beginning, there are times when things aren’t always the best, and I think you need some kind of higher power to take you from where you’re at, to the next level,” Phyllis said.
Byron added that communication before and after decision-making needs to be made into one of the most-important practices, as it will save time that may have otherwise been spent arguing.
“I would also say that you must have joy in your marriage. You have to, because there are times when the extra joy is so necessary,” Phyllis said. “You have to make time for each other because in 2024, everybody is busy, but when it comes to your spouse, they should be your first priority.”
Byron and Phyllis both spend a lot of time talking to each other and praying together. While The Hodges’ have created a life full of memories together, they are looking forward to making more good memories together.
In celebration of long-lasting memories and love, we invite you to wish Bryon and Phyllis a very happy anniversary.
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