Ross and Brunhilde Begley

<p>Ross and Brunhilde, known as Bruni, (Gelfert) Begley celebrated their 50th anniversary at a family party hosted by their daughter at the couple's home in Windsor.</p><p>Ross was born and raised in Santa Rosa. Bruni hails from Meerane in the county of Saxony, Germany. She relocated to Sonoma County in 1959 after an invitation from her uncle and his wife to come and live with them in Cazadero, where they owned and operated the Cazanoma Lodge. Bruni worked at the lodge for the first two years after moving here.</p><p>Ross and Bruni met through friends. Their first date was to a movie at the Roxy Theater. Bruni said that during their courtship they attended several wrestling matches held at the fairgrounds, a popular and inexpensive place to go on a date in Santa Rosa at that time. They also enjoyed attending the movies; one of their favorites from that era was “The Manchurian Candidate.” After going together for five months, they were married on December 29, 1962 in Santa Rosa. Since their anniversary date is so close to Christmas, Bruni joked that no one ever forgets when it is.</p><p>The couple has lived in Santa Rosa, Forestville and Windsor.</p><p>Ross served in the Navy from 1958-1962, including 20 months on Guam. He worked a total of 30 years for the Santa Rosa Police Department and Sonoma County Probation. Bruni was a beautician for eight years before becoming a stay-at-home mom and home maker.</p><p>Bruni enjoys gardening, writing poetry, painting and doing volunteer work at Sutter VNA Thrift Store in Santa Rosa. For several years, Ross enjoyed being a lapidary and made jewelry as gifts for friends and family.</p><p>Their children include daughter, Dawn Gonzales, and her husband, Curt, of Corvallis, Ore.; son, Dwain, of Windsor, and son, Darin, of Forestville. They have seven grandchildren.</p><p>They have made six trips to Europe to visit relatives; once for a school reunion; and have also made trips as “typical American tourists” along with friends to the following countries: England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco, and Luxembourg.</p><p>Their advice for a long and happy marriage is to go with the flow, take the good with the bad and know your priorities.</p>