•October 7, 2026•

by Jamie Crosier

At the SBL-sponsored Peace Meal (a senior nutrition program which serves balanced meals daily) held at the Mid-Illinois Senior Center in Sullivan, Ralph and Evelyn Kidwell have found that lunch is about more than what is on the plate.

For about 15 years, the Sullivan couple has regularly attended the meal program, where they enjoy a nutritious lunch without having to prepare it themselves. Just as important are the people around the table.

Staff at Mid-Illinois Senior Services have described the Kidwells as a regular source of laughter at Peace Meal — kind, honest and witty, and remaining curious about the people and world around them.

Their companionship around the lunch table is part of a relationship that began more than seven decades ago.

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Ralph Leonard Kidwell and Evelyn May Kidwell were married Dec. 24, 1954, at the Church of God parsonage on Jackson Street in Sullivan. This Christmas Eve, they will celebrate their 72nd wedding anniversary.

Their story began after Evelyn came to Sullivan to visit her father. Ralph, who was born at home and raised in Sullivan, accepted a bet that he couldn’t get the newcomer to agree to a date.

She did.

Their first date was to a wedding.

Over the years, the couple built a life around work and family. Evelyn worked at Brown Shoe factory, a sewing factory, the Index and an antique shop. Ralph worked at Brown Shoe, farmed full time, raised pigs and worked in maintenance and as a janitor for Bethany schools.

When asked about their hobbies during those years, Evelyn summed up part of their farm life with humor.

“He raised pigs and I used to chase them,” she said.

The Kidwells lived in Bethany before returning to Sullivan, which they have called home for the past 34 years.

They raised four children — Deborah, David, Timothy and Jaylene — and their family continued to grow. They have eight grandchildren, at least 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, with another expected in October.

Their grandchildren, they said, are all within “hollering distance.”

Community involvement has been part of their lives as well. Ralph belonged to the Odd Fellows, while Evelyn remains active with the Rebekah Lodge.

In retirement, Peace Meal has become part of their routine. They began attending about 15 years ago as a way to meet with friends and enjoy lunch without having to prepare it. The social connection has kept them returning.

The couple said they have shared a good and rich life, from raising their children to watching successive generations of their family grow. Retirement now gives them the freedom to spend their time as they choose.

Looking back at a marriage approaching 72 years, the Kidwells point to love, friendship and respect. They described growing together through the changing seasons of life, sharing similar interests and having personalities that allowed them to go with the flow when challenges came.

Their advice to younger couples is practical.

“Be willing to compromise. You don’t always have to be right,” they said. “Have a sense of humor and laugh as much as you can. Be humble.”

It is advice that reflects the life they described in just a few words: working hard, loving hard and building a family together.