Love Stories: Marilyn Twitchell and Jean Pyatt

Married: June 19, 2008
Together: 41 years

Looks can be deceiving, particularly when it comes to Marilyn Twitchell, 83, and Jean Pyatt, 80. Sitting in front of their backyard pool in Los Angeles’s Brentwood section, they hardly seem like the spitfires they are. But in story after story of their 41 years together, the women keep dropping asides -- “I forgot to tell you I was a fencing champion!”—that would trump the main narrative of most people’s lives.

Pyatt was a dance teacher and choreographer when they met; Twitchell was a veterinarian with a private practice. Their first year together, they lived in Malibu, where Pyatt’s brand-new 1967 Corvette was stolen one night. That misfortune launched them on a lifetime of travel. “The insurance money took us to Africa,” Pyatt says.

Back in Los Angeles, the couple found their lifelong professional passions. For Pyatt, it was flying. After her first lesson, she says, “I came down with stars in my eyes.” She embarked on a series of jobs in the aviation industry -- flight instructor, airline transport pilot, air traffic controller, FAA inspector, and finally, senior air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Twitchell became one of California’s first veterinary eye surgeons after first studying the human eye at Stanford University, then studying animal ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania. She and Pyatt flew there in their Cessna 182 -- which they raced in their spare time.

When it came to getting married, they took on the idea as they had so many others. “Jean is a very private person, and initially we thought it would be too public,” Twitchell says. “But we just decided, ‘No, it’s time.’ ”

Not ones to worry about other people’s reactions, they were still comforted to have the support of family. “My nieces and nephews have known Marilyn since they were born,” Pyatt says. “But we didn’t know where we actually stood with most of her family until we let them know we got married,” Twitchell adds. “We had so much wonderful feedback from everyone that I couldn’t believe it.”

They held their wedding in the backyard on June 19; two other longtime couples exchanged vows along with them. Well-wishers festooned the house with balloons. “This house was loaded with flowers -- from her family, from our friends,” Twitchell exclaims. “It was amazing.”

Today, the newlyweds continue to travel the world. Pyatt, the dancer, exercises every day. Twitchell enjoys making art; the house is full of her paintings and sculptures. Asked what about their relationship causes friction after four decades, Pyatt can’t think of a thing. But they’ve learned to give each other space. “If I want to go off on a fishing trip with friends, she wouldn’t care, and that’s a good feeling,” Twitchell says. She pats Pyatt’s hand and smiles, then adds, “But if she wanted to go off, I wouldn’t like it.”