Bill and Pat (High) McMurry of East Boothbay will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with family during the Christmas holidays. The McMurrys were married on December 28, 1963 at Myers Park Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C. During their marriage, they often vacationed at Ocean Point and dreamed of having their own place there one day.

Bill is a retired United States Navy Commander and Pat is a retired teacher. During Bill's naval career, they traveled throughout Europe and the U.S. where they lived in locations such as Beeville, Texas and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where, respectively, their son and daughter were born.

After Bill's retirement from the Navy, and a short stint in the movie theater business, they moved to Oakton, Va., where Bill worked as a systems analyst and Pat taught at The Flint Hill Private School for many years. Their Ocean Point dream became a reality when they built their home there and relocated in 1998.

Once settled, Bill and Pat joined St. Columba's Episcopal Church, where they became dedicated members and helped establish the new church building at its current location. In addition to the church, they are active members in the Power Squadron and the Boothbay Region Garden Club.

Visiting to celebrate their 50th anniversary will be their son Tom, daughter-in-law Lee, two granddaughters, Clare and Mary, from Williamsburg, Va., and their daughter Carole and son-in-law Bob from Wiscasset.

For their special anniversary, Bill and Pat flew to Moscow and took a river boat cruise to St. Petersburg, Russia where they spent 16 days on the MS Tikhi Don and visited communities along the rivers, canals and lakes between Moscow and St. Petersburg.