Dudley and Cathy Rooney Hit a Homerun with 55-year Marriage

She brings the heart and he supplies the humor to their 55-year marriage. Cathy and Dudley Rooney met as teenagers in the San Fernando Valley and went on to raise four boys of their own. Nowadays, they enjoy keeping tabs on their nine grandchildren, nurturing the lifelong friendships made through school and softball, and reminiscing about the past.
Dudley was playing baseball and Cathy was playing softball nearby when he first laid eyes on her. Immediately taken with her beauty, he proclaimed to his friend, “I’m going to marry her.” As luck would have it, the attractive girl was on Dudley’s sister’s softball team so Dudley asked her to arrange a meeting. A tennis match was set up and Cathy assumed her partner would be the brother in her grade. Instead, it was Dudley, the older brother. It didn’t take long for her surprise to turn to happiness. Dudley was a good guy—and a capable tennis player as they won the match.
After dating a couple of years, the two discussed marriage. Cathy even selected a ring. She didn’t know that Dudley paid the ring off early and planned to surprise her at a restaurant. In fact, he wanted to stand on a chair to involve everyone in the proposal. Those plans were dashed when he noticed Cathy’s mom and her knitting club sitting a couple of tables away. Still, he was determined to follow through that evening. Dudley pulled the car to the side of the road under a freeway overpass and proposed. While it wasn’t the romantic method he’d planned, it sure surprised Cathy who thought they were having car troubles.
In the early years of marriage, Cathy taught P.E. at a Catholic school. She then traded that job for a FedEx position with better benefits. Dudley taught mostly high school— 26 years at Bishop Alemany High School and 15 years at Valencia High School.
Cathy’s marriage advice is to select a person with whom you are friends. “Dudley is a good man, father and husband,” she said. “He’s also funny.”
Dudley’s advice for parenting: “When you have kids, have twins first then everything is easy after that.” Michael and Christopher were their firstborn… twins. Then came Jason and finally Brian.
The Rooneys live in a close-knit Saugus neighborhood where they’ve been for 26 years. Cathy is known for the generosity she shows to neighbors on a regular basis and in times of need. Dudley’s pride is visible, “Cathy will help anybody, anytime. She is a saint, a good Samaritan times 10.” She also loves to bake and decorate cakes. She sews for fun— and for work when she has jobs from Canyon Country based Vista Uniforms. In his spare time, Dudley relishes collecting baseball cards.
Ball playing brought Cathy and Dudley together and remained an important part of their lives. Dudley was one of the coaches for Cathy’s professional softball club team. She was the first hitter when her league started and she also led the division with homeruns. Dudley was inducted into Alemany’s Hall of Fame as the high school softball coach with the most wins at that time. Of course, all four Rooney boys played baseball as do many of the grandchildren.
Baseball isn’t the only thing they have in common from the past. Coincidentally, both Cathy and Dudley were born at Hollywood Hospital. Their families lived five to six blocks away from each other before moving to the San Fernando Valley. Dudley’s parents worked in the movie industry. Cathy’s dad wrestled a bear in a Disney film. Dudley himself, up until the age of 12, was an extra in many films.
The best film Dudley starred in? When Dudley Met Cathy. 

Comments