Mary Ann Roberts said she didn’t want a "big to-do" made over she and husband Leo’s 65th wedding anniversary July 14. On July 16, daughter Nancy Seiler invited her parents over for lunch but said they first had to go to the swimming pool to get the kids. When they walked into the Thornbrook Clubhouse, Mary Ann and Leo were surprised to see three generations of family and many friends waiting to celebrate and make a "to-do" over such a milestone anniversary.

Celebrating at Leo and Mary Ann Roberts’ 65th anniversary surprise party are, bottom row from left, daughter Sylvia Bradfield, Leo and Mary Ann, and daughter Nancy and husband John Seiler. In the top row, from left, are grandchildren Brett and Brian Bradfield, Melissa Meister and Michelle Ham.

In attendance besides Nancy and her husband, John, were the Robertses’ other daughter, Sylvia Bradfield; grandsons Brian and Brett Bradfield and their spouses, Katy and Cristy; and granddaughters Melissa Meister and husband Pete and Michelle Ham and husband Trey from Olathe, Kan. Great-grandchildren included Matthew Bradfield, Bradley and Andrew Meister, Madalyn and Olivia Bradfield, and Elizabeth and Jackson Ham.

Other well-wishers included Maxine and Dennis Tipton; Ed and Jane Glover; Ed and Amy Carey; Beth McIntyre; Linda, Ken and Beth Brokamp; F.A. and Dolores Gossett of Lipan, Texas; and John Faris of Park Forest, Ill.

Mary Ann was raised in New Franklin and Leo in Columbia, a proud 1937 Kewpie. When they married July 14, 1940, in Jameson, Leo was prepared to pay the minister, who told him to forget it and go buy a washtub instead. Leo worked in a grocery store downtown, then for the Poole and Creber wholesale grocery on Walnut Street. After buying a children’s clothing shop in Fayette, the family lived in Fayette for five years before moving back to Columbia to live in Parkade, which still had gravel roads. The Robertses then bought the Paris Road Market, which they sold in the mid-’60s. Leo went to work driving a Borden’s Ice Cream delivery truck and did so until he retired. Not one to simply retire in retirement, Leo works about four days a week delivering and picking up cars for Joe Machens Ford. After staying home to raise her family, Mary Ann went to work at Greenspan’s Dress Shop, and after that, she was a State Farm secretary until retiring.

The couple has always enjoyed camping, especially with their Avion trailer group friends. Both are still active and, considering their ages, in good health, and they love spending time with their family and neighbors. On July 23, Mary Ann, Leo and daughter Sylvia went to Littleton, Colo., to celebrate Mary Ann’s Aunt Nim’s — Naomi Dietrich — 100th birthday and attend a family reunion. Naomi lived in the New Franklin area in the ’30s.

The Robertses haven’t revealed the secret to their long marriage, but Sylvia says she’s never known her dad to leave the house without kissing her mother goodbye — never!

Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Goodman head this year’s class of inductees into the Nesuhi Ertegun Hall of Fame, which opened last fall at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s new home in the Time Warner Center.

The hall of fame is named after Turkish-born Ertegun, who played a key role in developing the catalog of jazz, R&B and rock albums at Atlantic Records, the label founded by his brother Ahmet.

The inductees were chosen by a 58-member panel of jazz musicians, educators and scholars from 17 countries. An induction ceremony will be held Sept. 8 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Last year’s inaugural group of 14 inductees included Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.

Snapshots sez: Someday, maybe the name Nesuhi Ertegun will roll off the tongue as easily as Ella, Benny and the Count.