This week, Wui and Ethel Lung will celebrate their 78th wedding anniversary. He is 102, she just made 100. They have been married since 1930 and still have sweet things to say about one another.

"She was pretty," he says, remembering when they met.

"He's very honest, very giving and very supportive," she says, and then adds, "and he's a Republican."

He nods to affirm this.

The Lungs have lived at Kahala Nui retirement community for the past year, she in a one-bedroom apartment on the sixth floor, he on the eighth floor in a comprehensive nursing unit.

They see each other every day. He doesn't hear well but his eyes are sharp enough to read questions written out for him. She is full of jokes and stories and is dressed like she's going to a party with a mu'umu'u, blazer and dangling earrings. She doesn't look 100. She doesn't even look 80.

Ethel Lung grew up in Wailuku, Maui, the daughter of a Chinese picture bride and a contract plantation worker. She grew up poor and learned early to work hard and ask for nothing.

She came to Honolulu when she was 17 because there were more opportunities for work. She worked as an usherette at the Princess Theater on Fort Street and at the Hawai'i Theatre. Later, she was a fry cook, a hotel maid and sold salads to Kelly's Drive Inn.

One day, Ethel's brother brought his friend Wui Lung home to meet his sister. She thought he was "nice, clean-cut and jolly" but says she played "hard to get."

"The first time he asked me out, I said no. The next time he asked, I said OK."

They dated for several years before getting married. Their reception was a small gathering at his parents' house. She's not even sure they had a wedding cake.

They rented a house in Mo-'ili'ili, had four children and eventually were able to buy a house in Kaimuki. Wui was a machinist for Liberty Auto, which was near Straub Hospital. After working there for years, he bought the business.

After years of hard work, they retired and traveled the world.

Ethel Lung attributes their longevity to good Chinese food that she cooked herself. She attributes their long and happy marriage to staying busy.

"Going to church is good. Do things together. Keep busy together. Then you don't have eyes for the wrong person to come along."

She also advocates letting a man have a bit of freedom.

"He used to golf two times a week and I never interfered," she said. "A man has to have something to do outside the home. But if he sits in the bar, that's a different thing."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.