Thursday, October 1, 2026
“I was playing football in front of my house and a ball went awry,” said Robert Falcon, discussing his first interaction with Joan Weiss. “She picked it up and threw me a perfect spiral. That got me interested. That’s how it began.”
Spanning 75 years of marriage, two children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, Robert and Joan Falcon (formerly Weiss) have built a full life together — nearly all of it in and around Long Beach.
The 14-year-old Falcon, who had attended West Elementary School, was enrolled at Lindell Junior and Senior High School — decades before Lindell was converted to an elementary school. Weiss previously attended East Elementary School and was also a student at Lindell. In 1949, the couple graduated Long Beach High School together — Weiss was salutatorian, Falcon was a star of the football and track teams and together they were voted class couple. They briefly enrolled in NYU, commuting into New York City from Long Beach, but their college educations were interrupted by two major events: marriage and the Korean War.
They couple wed in March 1951, on Falcon’s 20th birthday. At the time, men needed to be 21 to legally sign a marriage certificate, so his mother signed it in his place. Women needed to be 18, so Weiss, at 19 years old, signed for herself.
Soon after the wedding and after the start of the Korean War, Falcon joined the Coast Guard and, as a Seaman, was stationed between New York and Florida until leaving the service in 1955. Neither would return to college, but instead moved from Brooklyn, to return to Long Beach and began a family — their oldest son, Albert, was born in 1956 and their youngest son, Ronald, was born in 1959. The growing family lived for nearly 10 years at The Buckingham, now known as The Breeze apartments, and their children attended the local schools.
“Growing up, on the walls of the junior high, were pictures of my father and all of his accomplishments on the football and track team,” said Ronald. “When they did the renovation, it came down. But growing up, it was always something I could see going to the auditorium.”
He explained that his father, now 95 years old, remained physically active until choosing to slow down recently. “My father used to go to the gym every day. On his 90th birthday, I woke up and he was doing his three-minute plank,” he said of the former star athlete. “As a birthday present to himself, he gave up exercising at 90.”
To support his family, Falcon worked as a manufacturer’s representative for a women’s sweater company, regularly commuting to New York City and traveling cross-country. Ronald said his mother was a homemaker during their childhood but, after he graduated medical school many years later, she worked in his dermatology practice as head nurse and medical assistant.
In 2000, the couple became genuine snowbirds and moved to Tamarac, Florida, returning to New York for four months each year. In Florida, they could be found swimming or socializing with other transplanted Long Beach natives. “My mother hosted a Super Bowl party for 20 years in Florida,” said their proud son. “At its height, they probably had 40 people.”
The matriarch is still an enthusiastic mahjong and canasta player. When the couple moved back to Lido Beach in the summer of 2025, they found an opportunity to create a new tradition with their local son and daughter-in-law. The family spends most afternoons playing cards for hours.
The Falcon family is spread near and far. Granddaughter Julie, Albert’s daughter, attends Berklee College of Music in Boston, while her brother, Sammy, attends high school in Germany. Ronald and his wife Joanne have three children — their oldest son is an attorney based in Rockville Centre, their youngest son owns real estate in upstate New York, and their daughter is an event producer. All three of the Falcon’s great-grandchildren — Robert, Joseph, and Marshal — live in Rockville Centre and see their great-grandparents often.
Maintaining a relationship for more than seven decades doesn’t happen without developing some strategies. Joan shared one key piece of advice with her daughter-in-law on the day she married Ronald. “My mother-in-law said to me, ‘Just keep laughing,” Joanne explained. “And then, she said, ‘He’s your problem now.’ They both have a very good sense of humor.”
Falcon has his own words of wisdom, particularly for men in long-term relationships. “If anybody ever asks you what the secret to a 75-year-old marriage is,” Falcon said, “Just tell them it’s two words. ‘Yes, dear.’”
From high school sweethearts into their mid-90s, the couple celebrates a milestone 75th anniversary as they continue to set the standard for their entire family. “Both of my sons are married,” said Joanne, “At both of their weddings, they said they wanted to model their marriages after Joan and Bob’s.”
