A Canton couple married for 50 years has some good advice about marriage for others this Valentine’s Day.

For Sandra and Foy Pierce, who married Dec. 27, 1962, it was love at first sight.

After 50 years, the flame is going strong, but that doesn’t mean the couple never encountered problems along the way.

“There were a few rough patches before we finally settled down together, but it really was love at first sight,” Sandra said.

The couple, which has one grown son, met at an impromptu party thrown by a mutual friend where the host’s older brother was holding a poker game.

“I won him in a poker game,” Sandra said, laughing. “That’s where I met him. He busted and I got him.”

Luck may be a factor in their meeting but commitment is an important part of their success.

“When you get married it’s for the long haul. You just go the extra mile. You have to give 150 percent each way and trying to make it work,” said Foy, retired from Delta Air Lines in program development and training.

He is president of Cushing Memorial Park, a recreational facility in Cherokee County.

“He has as much to put up with in me as I do with him,” said Sandra, who volunteers weekly with MUST Ministries.

Marriage requires give and take, Sandra said.

“First of all, you really have to love each other. There are times in marriage when you don’t like the person, but you must always love them,” she said.

Foy agrees with his wife.

“You have to find that happy medium in there and be patient and realize that nobody’s perfect all the time,” Foy said.

The couple moved from Decatur to Canton in 1991, after visiting the area for years. They have a cabin at Cushing Park, which at one time was owned by Delta and is now a private club on Lake Allatoona.

“We love it here, we enjoy Canton. It reminds us of the small town where we grew up,” Sandra said.

After retiring, Sandra was searching for ways to be involved, and six years ago found MUST.

“I had worked all my life, and I was looking for places to volunteer. A friend told me about MUST and I went over and talked with them and just fell in love. It makes you feel good all over that you can help,” she said.

Sandra said a marriage takes give and take to work, but the end result is worth the effort.

“In our little town, no one gave us six months when we married, but maybe because of that I was not going to give up,” she said. “A sense of humor doesn’t hurt either.”