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By Charlotte Underwood
JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – Dr. Clarence Duncan and wife Jane celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Saturday at the Bethel Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Jacksboro. Surrounded by their family and many friends, the Duncans are just as “sweet on each other” as they were back in 1950s.
They met as teenagers at the Pleasant View Baptist Church in Clinton and had their first date at that same church, where they were later married in 1953.
According to Dr. Clarence Duncan, Jane was “the prettiest thing I ever saw.”
Jane said she thought “he was handsome and wanted to go with him,” but she was shy.
“I was really bashful then, and he was shy too, though you wouldn’t believe it the way he talks now,” Jane Duncan said.
Clarence asked her out on a date and the rest is history.
According to Jane, most of their dates were at church, and sometimes they would “go grab a hamburger together.”
The couple raised seven children and now have 13 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
“We have been so very blessed by the Lord,” Jane Duncan said.
At the anniversary celebration, there were many family pictures and ministry pictures of their life on display.
At 88 years old, Clarence has more than 60 years of service in the ministry.
He pointed to his wife and said, “can you believe she’s 87? She doesn’t look it does she! I’m 88 and she’s 87. We’ve been so blessed by the Lord all these years.”
Duncan’s ministry travels started on a Williamsburg, Kentucky, radio station (WEZJ) and then to churches in Laurel County, Kentucky, a short stint in the mid-1960s at Bethel Baptist Church at Jacksboro, Roane County and finally at Bethel for a second time in 1984. In between, there were stops at the Kingston Children’s Center, the Dalton, Georgia, Rescue Ministry and Rock of Ages Prison Ministry in Georgia.
Along the way, they raised their kids, along with several others through the various Children’s Homes, “providing love and support as the Lord called them to do.”
“They were good parents, they raised us good and took care of us spiritually. They were good to us. Daddy taught us how to work hard and provide for our families,” son Wesley Duncan said.
When asked what was the secret to a 70 year marriage, Jane Duncan responded, “You have to love each other and take the bad with the good. You can’t run away when it’s hard; you have to talk it out.”
According to Dr. Clarence Duncan, his secret to a 70 year marriage is “the good Lord” and his “love for his wonderful wife.”
Happy 70th Anniversary to Dr. Clarence Duncan and wife Jane! (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/13/2023-6AM)
Happy Belated 70th wedding anniversary to a wonderful couple…I thank god for this couple and their family…and their witness to others and Bro. Duncan’s ministry thru the years…a faithful couple that has done the Lord’s work thru their years together….sure wish I had not forgotten it…