Atascadero couple, married in 1945, reflects on a lifetime of faith, family, and perseverance as they celebrate eight decades together

NORTH COUNTY — On Aug. 23, Maxine and Riley Elkins will celebrate something few couples ever experience: 80 years of marriage. At 95 and 97, the longtime Atascadero and Morro Bay residents reflect on a lifetime of love and perseverance that has spanned nearly a century.

Their journey began in 1945, in the uncertain years of World War II. Maxine was just 15, Riley only 17. The two met in high school in Placerville — he a senior, she a freshman. After several months of friendship, their relationship blossomed into something deeper. Like many young couples of the time, they were acutely aware that the war cast shadows over the future.

“A great many of the young people were getting married because they didn’t know whether or not they would get back together, you know?” Maxine shared.

So, in the summer of 1945, they did something bold. Borrowing Riley’s brother’s old truck, the teenagers drove over the Sierra Nevada from Mt. Shasta to Carson City, Nevada. There, in the courthouse, they eloped.

“We left notes,” Maxine recalled with a laugh. “I left a note, and he told his brother, and his brother told his mother the next morning that he was gone to get married. And my folks found my note … we came back from Carson City very bravely and stood up in front of them and said, ‘we’re going to stay married, and if you bother us, we’ll leave and we’ll never come back.’ And so they were just astounded, you know, but it worked out very well, and we’re still together.”

The Elkins celebrate their 80th wedding anniversary on Aug. 23, having married as teenagers in 1945, right before Riley entered the Army. Photos Courtesy of Elkins Family

Eight decades later, their determination proved true.

After their marriage, Riley joined the U.S. Army as a supply sergeant. He served stateside during the Korean War era, stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. Meanwhile, Maxine graduated high school and began supporting Riley in his work.

When the war years ended, the couple settled in Hermosa Beach, where Riley learned the building trade. That skill would become his life’s work. Over the decades, Riley built 55 homes and several apartments throughout San Luis Obispo County, particularly in Morro Bay and Atascadero, and Southern California. Many of those houses still stand today, testaments to his craftsmanship and care. He also contributed to significant state projects, including the rebuilding of the historic Sonoma Barracks, and later taught building skills to prisoners preparing for release, giving them the tools to create better lives.

“I think everyone who bought one of his houses was very pleased,” Maxine said proudly. “And we’re friends with all of them … we have known them all the way through from the building to them until now.”

Maxine supported Riley’s work while also carving her own path. Together, they worked as real estate agents, and she often handled the behind-the-scenes logistics — calls, appointments, and paperwork — that helped Riley’s building business flourish. The Elkins made their permanent home on the Central Coast more than 60 years ago, raising their only son, Michael, in Atascadero.

“We were married 10 years before we had Michael,” Maxine explained. “Because we needed to grow up. We didn’t have to get married. We just wanted to.”

Today, their family includes granddaughter Jordan and a great-granddaughter, both carrying on Riley’s name as their middle name.

Fishing was Riley’s favorite hobby when he wasn’t building homes. He spent countless hours at local lakes and coastal streams, rod in hand. Together, the couple also enjoyed cruises, marking anniversaries with trips abroad. At their 50th wedding anniversary, they celebrated aboard a cruise ship, smiling together in photographs that remain family treasures.

Despite the challenges of age, Maxine’s reflections on their life together remain filled with gratitude.

“He’s been the fine kind of a man you want to be married to in every way. He’s been considerate and nice and helpful in any way you want to name,” she said. “He’s been the top kind of a fellow. I can’t put a time on him because over the years, those things have expanded into more and more. And that’s really what love is. It doesn’t start out bang. It starts out, and it grows. It grows with all the care and consideration and help you can give it. And time and love.”

From surviving the Second World War, ration books, and the shock of Pearl Harbor, to watching the moon landing, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and decades of change in their hometown, the Elkins have lived through some of history’s most defining moments — always together.

Their favorite song, fittingly, is “Always,” with its refrain: ‘I’ll be loving you, always.’ For Maxine, it sums up their story.

Through all the decades of marriage, raising a family, weathering wars, and building a life on the Central Coast, Maxine says their faith has been the steady foundation beneath it all, “We are very grateful for our relationship with God, for it has always helped.”

Feature Image: Riley and Maxine Elkins share a kiss on their wedding day, Aug. 23, 1945 — where they got married in Carson City, Nevada. Photo courtesy of the Elkins Family