SIDNEY — Janet and Ralph Baumgardner, of Sidney, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico, with 18 family members and friends in January 2015.
Celebrations will continue later this month, June 2015, at a family reunion in Columbus to be hosted by their children.
Ralph and the former Janet Ludwig were married June 26, 1955, at 2:30 p.m., in the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sidney. The Rev. H.W. Swinehart performed the ceremony on a beautiful summer afternoon. Witnesses were maid of honor Mary Ann Partington, best man Richard Ludwig, bridesmaids Betty Lou Barnes and Alice Baumgardner, groomsmen Carl Carey and Dick McCoy, ushers Roger Aschenbach and Dick Ward, and flower girls Deborah Davis and Nancy Conover.
Ralph is the son of the late Ralph and Grace (Beery) Baumgardner. He has a sister, Alice Jackson, of Napa, California.
Janet is the daughter of the late Ernest and Wilma (Meyer) Ludwig. She has a brother, Richard Ludwig, of Kettering.
The Baumgardners have three sons and daughters-in-law, Jeffrey and Mary (Osborne) Baumgardner, of Columbus, Mark and Julie (Cope) Baumgardner, of Winchester, Kentucky, and Douglas and Robin (Hansley) Baumgardner, of Reynoldsburg. They have five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Ralph and Janet both graduated from Sidney High School in 1952. Ralph joined the U.S. Navy and served on Guam and aboard a naval destroyer. He was discharged from the Navy, June 10, 1955. He retired from Minster Machine Co. in 1996.
Janet worked for the Sidney Daily News until she was married, became a full-time wife and mother and then worked for Alcoa, retiring in 1996.
They were avid golfers and belonged to the Senior Grasshoppers for many years. They enjoy playing cards, boating, spending time with family and wintering in Florida.
