Thirty Years, One Heart:

Paul and Imelda Done Mark a Golden Milestone

A San Diego love story that has spanned 10,957 days, seven homes, six countries, three children, and one very cherished grandchild.

By Staff Reporter | Family & Community | 19 April 2026

On a sun-drenched Saturday morning thirty years ago, Paul and Imelda Done stood before family and friends in San Diego, California, and exchanged vows that would set them on one of life’s greatest adventures. Yesterday, 19 April 2026, they celebrated three decades of marriage — 10,957 days of shared laughter, hard-won wisdom, and a love that has only deepened with time.

Thirty years. It is, by any measure, a remarkable achievement. And yet, for those who know Paul and Imelda, it comes as no surprise at all.

A Life Built Across Seven Homes

From their first home together as newlyweds to the residence they share today, Paul and Imelda have made a home seven times over. Each address tells its own chapter of the story — the cramped but cheerful first apartment, the house with the garden where the children learned to walk, the place they moved to for a new job or a new adventure. Seven homes, and in each one, the same warmth, the same laughter, the same family gathered around the table.

“Home was never really about the building,” Imelda has been known to say. “It was always about who was in it.”

Three Children, One Grandchild — and Counting

Perhaps the couple’s greatest legacy is the family they have raised together. Paul and Imelda are proud parents to three children who have grown into adults of whom any parent would be immensely proud. The next generation has already arrived, too — a grandchild who, by all accounts, has completely stolen their hearts.

Those who have watched Paul around his grandchild report that it is, quite simply, a joy to behold — a man who has given much to the world, entirely undone in the best possible way by one very small person.

Six Countries: A World Explored Together

Between them, Paul and Imelda have set foot in six countries — some for extended stays, some for adventures that deserve a story of their own, and at least one or two that amounted to little more than a well-timed layover. No matter. Each stamp in the passport represents a moment of shared experience, a memory made together, a story that begins with “Do you remember when we were in…”

Travel, it turns out, is one of the great tests of a relationship — and Paul and Imelda have passed it six countries over.

10,957 Days — and Every One Worth It

The mathematics of a long marriage can be staggering when you stop to consider them. From 19 April 1996 to 19 April 2026, Paul and Imelda Done have shared exactly 10,957 days. That is 10,957 mornings waking up beside the same person. 10,957 evenings spent in each other’s company. Thousands of meals, milestones, and ordinary Tuesdays that, in hindsight, were anything but ordinary.

Thirty years of marriage is designated the Pearl Anniversary — and like a pearl, what Paul and Imelda have built together has formed slowly, through patience and perseverance, layer by layer, until it has become something lustrous and rare.

To Paul and Imelda Done: congratulations on 30 remarkable years, seven homes that were always full of heart, a family that is your finest work, and 10,957 days well and truly lived. Here’s to the next chapter.

♥

AT A GLANCE: 30 YEARS OF PAUL & IMELDA DONE

Married: 19 April 1996, San Diego, California

Days of marriage: 10,957

Homes: 7 | Countries visited: 6 | Children: 3 | Grandchildren: 1