Pat Boone is an accomplished musician who rose to prominence in the latter half of the 1950s. Shirley Boone, who had been his high school love, remained his wife for the whole 65 years of their marriage.
They were brought together by a mutual buddy who played on Pat’s basketball team. A buddy pointed out to Pat that Shirley was the daughter of country singer Red Foley as she was seated on a bench. Red Foley was a well-known country musician. Pat claimed that at the time, he was not the greatest lover of country music; nevertheless, since he already admired Shirley, he rapidly changed his mind about country music.
The singer said that their bond was rather unique, particularly for high school kids of their age (16 years old). “We were very much in love,” he said without equivocation. They had been seeing one another for nine months before their first kiss, and Pat was quite anxious.
He said that all he did was give Shirley a wobbly kiss on the mouth before he departed, but his lover was unimpressed by this confession. When she finally arrived home, she questioned, “Is that what I waited nine months for?”
But Pat was anxious and feared that he would ruin what he had with Shirley, leading to the same result as his other relationships from high school. Despite this, the desire felt by the 16-year-old just became stronger. Pat’s father approached Shirley’s father when they were both 19 years old and requested his daughter’s hand in marriage.
While narrating the anecdote, Pat became choked up. He described how Shirley’s father broke down in tears after seeing the depth of their love for one another. The question that Shirley’s father posed to her caregiver was, “Will you take care of my girl?”
Foley was heartbroken because he had intended to take his daughter with him when he moved, but he eventually came to the realization that he would have to leave her with Pat. Shirley was his wife for the next 65 years, and during that time, her beloved husband kept his commitment to care for her and cherish her. Shirley and Pat decided to elope and take a risk on their relationship with one another without having any idea what the future contained for either of them.