Tom and Judy Zimmerman celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary

A lot has changed in 50 years. But some of the best things in life have not.

Tom and Judy Zimmerman celebrated their 50th anniversary on Aug. 13 during an open house hosted by their daughter and son-in-law Kelsey and Lance Stevens.

The Zimmermans have been community leaders in La Conner over the past five decades – he as a fire chief and Dunlap Towing skipper and she as a council member and La Conner Elementary School teacher.

Those attending the festivities were treated to good food and good memories in equal measure.

Many of those memories were shared by the Zimmermans’ four children, with Kelsey Stevens doing so poetically.

“When something special is going on,” she explained, “I write a poem.”

Her verses brought both laughter and tears as she alluded to the time-honored values her parents have modeled.

“They’ve taught us all the right things in life,” she said, “and none of them were things.”

Chad Zimmerman, oldest of the siblings, praised their parents for having a generous spirit and choosing to focus on others rather than themselves.

“This is a great milestone in their journey,” Chad said, “and there’s so much ahead.”

Chad’s brother, Tyler, said he felt “glad to give something back” to their parents for all their many sacrifices.

“I remember when I was in high school and all my friends would come over to the house and graze through the food, sometimes breaking the furniture,” he said, partly in jest.

“They’re celebrities in La Conner,” Tyler said, “with all they’ve done with the town council and at the fire hall.”

Molly Warlaumont echoed her brothers’ and sister’s sentiments, noting how their parents’ skills and talents have complemented one another to the family’s benefit.

“Their relationship is like a well-oiled machine,” she said. “Each has their own role, and they make it work.”

The result, Judy Zimmerman said, has been a blessed life ever since she and Tom met while students at La Conner High School. In addition to their four children, they now have 11 grandchildren, she said.

“There are so many blessings in our lives,” she said.

Tom Zimmerman seconded that.

“I knew when I was 16,” said Tom, now 70, “that she was the one. And she’s still the one.”