Couple celebrates 57th wedding anniversary with automobile art

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Wedding anniversaries have always a reason to celebrate and for one Tupelo couple, that celebration was taken to the open road.

You couldn’t miss the Toyota Scion as it drove down the road. Cecelia Palmer, a lifelong Tupelo resident, has decorated it every month with a different theme, this month it’s decorated in honor of her and her husband’s 57th wedding anniversary.

“This month is my favorite month, I’ve got hearts on my car and it says, “Just Married, 57 years ago,” Cecelia said.

The Palmers have raised two sons, helped run the family’s grocery business and been involved in their community and church throughout the years.

They both said there were key ingredients to a long, fruitful and happy marriage.

“Certainly, a marriage requires God be in your marriage, that’s what we’ve tried to do down through the years, and we’ve tried to have a Godly home and he is a Godly man and I’m proud to say that and then, second, a sense of humor, he is so funny to me, he makes me laugh, a lot of times I laugh at him and not with him,” she said.

“In most cases, Cecelia and I have fun, we laugh together, in most cases, we have fun, don’t take each other too serious,” Buddy said.

Buddy and Cecelia have settled into what they call their routine, she does the yard work in the front yard, he has the backyard duties. They stay home most evenings when there’s not a city or church function, so the recent shelter in place orders associated with COVID-19 didn’t change things much at the Palmer household.

“We’ve been sheltering in place for 57 years now, so it’s just the fact if you’re told to stay at home, you don’t want to stay at home, we love to stay at home, we love our home, love sitting on the porch, watching world go by,” Cecelia said.

But on those occasions when Cecelia goes to the store or runs an errand, she spreads joy with her automobile art, but that’s not always the case for the city councilman.

“I really enjoy it, I have said before, I, in an odd way I consider it a ministry, if I ride down the street and somebody wave at me, thumbs up, I like your car, whatever, if I can bring a smile to somebody’s face that’s really my intention,” she said.

“Sometimes that doesn’t happen to me, as a Tupelo city councilman, sometimes I go down the road and I get a thumbs down, or doing this, not really, I enjoy being a councilman,” Buddy said.

The Palmers don’t have big plans for their wedding anniversary. They will probably stay home, watch some TV and they may go for a drive. If you see them be sure and give them a big thumbs up.

The big anniversary date for Buddy and Cecelia is June 30.