Example 1: Heartfelt with a few laughs, about 4 minutes
527 words · about 4 min spoken
Hello everyone, I’m Erin, Frank and Donna’s daughter. Thank you for being here to celebrate my parents' fiftieth anniversary—fifty years, or as we call it in our family, “half a century of Dad talking and Mom keeping track.”
I want to thank Mike and Tasha for opening up their backyard for all of us tonight, and a special thanks to Mom’s cousin Linda, who flew in from Phoenix. I know Uncle Stan is with us in spirit. He was Dad’s brother, best man, and the person who finally told Dad to stop explaining carburetors and just ask Mom out.
If you don’t know how Mom and Dad met, it was on a Greyhound bus from Columbus to Dayton in 1974. Dad had a box of carburetor parts on his lap that rattled the whole way. Mom finally asked if he could hold it still, and Dad took that as an invitation to give her a 70-mile lecture on carburetors. Mom says she married him so she’d never have to hear about them again. Dad says she asked for his number, but I think the truth is somewhere between Mom’s patience and Dad’s persistence.
Two years later, they got married at St. Anthony’s in Dayton. They built their life—and the family hardware store—together. For 35 years, they ran it side by side. Dad can fix anything and could tell you every customer’s dog’s name. Mom somehow kept the books, the schedule, and Dad all running at the same time. It was never “Frank’s Hardware”—even the sign says “Frank & Donna’s Hardware.” That’s partnership. And that’s what they taught us: you split the work, the worry, and the credit.
When the Blizzard of ’78 hit, they kept the store open three days straight. They slept on cots in the stockroom and handed out shovels and batteries to anyone who needed them, scribbling names on a legal pad. And the thing is, nearly everyone came back to pay them. That’s just who they are—steady, generous, and trusting. The kind of people you want on your team, or in your family.
At home, they never missed anything for me, Mike, or Danny. Games, recitals—they’d close the store early if they had to. Now, Pop is teaching all five grandkids to ride bikes in the parking lot. And every Christmas Eve, it’s pierogi night—arguing about the onions, just like always. Mom with her pencil behind her ear, even at church. Dad’s answer to everything: “We’ll figure it out, Donna.” And somehow, they always do.
They set the example for all of us. Not just as parents and grandparents, but as partners. Their marriage works because they’re different, but together, they’re better. They show that love isn’t about never arguing over onions—it’s about always sharing the last pierogi.
So here’s what I wish for you, Mom and Dad: that you finally take that Alaska cruise you’ve been talking about forever, and maybe, Dad, that you stop “just checking on the nails” at the store every morning now that Mike’s got it covered.
(Raise your glass) To Frank and Donna—fifty years of partnership, love, and figuring it out together. We love you. Happy anniversary!
What the writer told Toastful to get this speech
- Speaker
- Erin, daughter
- How they met
- They met in 1974 on a Greyhound bus from Columbus to Dayton. Dad had a box of carburetor parts on his lap that rattled the whole way. Mom asked him to hold it still, and he spent the next 70 miles explaining carburetors. Mom says she married him so she'd never have to hear about them again. Dad says she asked for his number. They married in June 1976 at St. Anthony's in Dayton.
- What works
- They ran Dad's family hardware store together for 35 years. Dad can fix anything and knew every customer by name; Mom kept the books, the schedule and Dad. It was never 'my store,' always 'ours.'
- As role models
- They never missed a game or recital for me, Mike or Danny, even if it meant closing the store early. Now Pop teaches all five grandkids to ride a bike in the store parking lot.
- Stories
- During the Blizzard of '78 they kept the store open three days straight, slept on cots in the stockroom and handed out shovels and batteries, writing down what people took on a legal pad. Nearly everyone came back to pay. And for their 25th, Dad secretly had the store sign repainted to say 'Frank & Donna's Hardware.' Mom saw it when she pulled in the next morning and cried in the car before she could go inside.
- Family traditions
- Pierogi together every Christmas Eve, arguing about the onions. Mom keeps a pencil behind her ear, even at church. Dad's answer to every problem: 'We'll figure it out, Donna.'
- Lessons
- Marriage is a partnership: you split the work, the worry and the credit.
- Remembering
- Uncle Stan, Dad's brother and best man, who died in 2021. He's the one who told Dad to stop talking about carburetors and ask Mom to dinner.
- Thank-yous
- My brother Mike and his wife Tasha for hosting in their backyard, and Mom's cousin Linda, a bridesmaid at their wedding, who flew in from Phoenix.
- Wishes
- That they finally take the Alaska cruise they've talked about for years, and that Dad stops 'checking on the nails' at the store every morning now that Mike runs it.