Barbara and Bob Buroker of Ville Platte celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary today, September 6, 2018
The Burokers received the sacrament of Holy Matrimony on September 6, 1958, at Saint Boniface Church in Piqua, Ohio. They moved from Ohio to Ville Platte in 1979 when Holloway Sportswear opened a textiles factory in the town’s Industrial Park. Bob managed the plant, and Barbara went to work as a registered nurse in the hospital.
Upon arriving in Ville Platte, they received a warm welcome from many people eager to teach them all things Cajun. It was a natural fit because the Burokers are short-statured, devout, good natured, and family oriented. Bob likes to hunt and fish, and Barbara enjoys playing the organ and being a member of many community organizations.
Bob and Barbara have two children, Elizabeth (Libby) Buroker Coffin and John Buroker, who graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1987 and 1991 respectively. Libby now works as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and John teaches music in Vermilion Parish. Bob and Barbara have a total of seven grandchildren: T.J., Rory, Annelise, and Ava Coffin and Michael, Shelby, and Benjamin Buroker.
The Buroker family fondly recalls Bob and Barbara’s silver anniversary in 1983 when they simultaneously celebrated the golden anniversary of Barbara’s parents. They realized that in order to recreate such a coincidence 25-years-later, either Libby (then age 14) or John (age 10) would have to get married that year. It did not happen, but Libby and Tim Coffin celebrated 26-years together in December, and John and Karen Buroker will be married for 18-years in October. They credit Bob and Barbara for setting a good example for long term wedded bliss.
Couple married September 6, 1958, in Piqua, Ohio
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