Doctor and Mrs. Joseph Benedict of Mystic recently observed their 50th wedding anniversary at the Ocean House in Watch Hill, R.I. They were married in St. William Church in Dorchester, Mass. on June 26, 1965. They were introduced by Mrs. Benedict’s brother Daniel, who was a classmate of Dr. Benedict at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.

Celebration of this anniversary took the form of a special extended year of travel encompassing portions of 2014 and 2015. It began with an opera tour of Scandinavia (H.A.T. Tours) including Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo and Copenhagen. Later in the year they attended the World Orchid Conference 21 in Johannesburg, followed by a trip through central South Africa from Pretoria to Capetown on the Blue Train. The year 2014 was capped off with a Regent cruise from Istanbul to Dubai with numerous interesting stops, but among the more meaningful were the Blessed Mother’s House in Ephesus, Turkey, the Hold Land, and ancient Petra, Jordan.

Part of the brunt of the last serious winter was relieved by a cruise on the Sea Cloud II visiting gardens of the eastern Caribbean in January. They recently returned from a touristically and musically rewarding opera tour (H.A.T. Tours) of eastern Germany with very enjoyable visits to Weimar, Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin. The year of travel will be capped by an upcoming visit to Dr. Benedict’s sister who is the Abbess of the Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno near Isernia, Italy, followed by a trip on the reconstituted Orient Express from Venice to London.

After obtaining her nursing degree from Boston College, Mrs. Benedict worked in Boston, New York City, Charleston, S.C. and southeastern Conn. before retiring.

Dr. Benedict served as a line officer on surface ships and diesel and nuclear submarines before taking a leave of absence to attend medical school. He then served in the Navy Medical Corps in Washington, D.C. He joined the Pathology department of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in 1981, where he continues today, occasionally pondering retirement.

Their son, Mark, and his wife, Annette live in Westerly, R.I. with grandchildren Mark Jr. and Isabella. Their son Matthew, and his wife, Christina, live in San Marino, Calif. with grandchildren Katie and Lauren.