The text below was published in the Northeast Neighbors section of the July 27, 2006 issue of the Dayton Daily News.

Hereabouts - By Beth Anspach
In a world where the divorce rate hovers at 51 percent, there are still people who believe in marriage and know that even unions seemingly headed for an untimely end, can be saved.
People who know Dick & Carol Cronk of Butler Township might think they have the perfect union, married for nearly 40 years and the parents of daughter Jennifer, 32, who is newly engaged herself. But Dick will tell you it hasn't always been "picture perfect," and the struggles the Cronks had in their own marriage inspired them to reach out to others.
"At about the 14 year point in our marriage, we went through counseling and separated," Dick said. "We were very close to divorce before a friend reached out to us and encouraged us to attend a Marriage Encounter weekend."
Dick credits his friend, family members and that special weekend event for teaching him and his wife the skills they needed to salvage their union.
"I feel like I fell in love with Carol all over again during that weekend in 1993," Dick said. "And it made such an impact that I knew we needed to reach out to others and give something back."
So the Cronks became involved in creating a marriage ministry at the Christian Life Center in Butler Township. Today, the ministry focuses on three areas:
- Marriage enrichment for couples that already have good marriages but want to learn how to make them stronger.
- Marriage assistance for couples in trouble
- Marriage preparation for engaged couples
"We launched the ministry in 1997, and those of us who are the mentors work with couples on many levels," Dick said. "And we have had a lot of success stories."
Cronk said that of the 161 married couples they have mentored through the program over the years, only eight have divorced.
"That's only a 5 percent divorce rate in our program," Dick said.
He also pointed out that engaged couples learn a lot about marriage and a few have actually decided not to get married after counseling. "We consider those success stories, too." Dick said.
After Dick took an early retirement from his job as an aerospace engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base when he was 49 years old, he knew he had to stay active. So Carol, the coordinator for Christian Life Center preschool, encouraged him to volunteer at the National Museum of the US Air Force, which he still does one morning a week.
He also works with the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center, "socializing" stray cats and preparing them for new homes.
Carol said retirement has been the best years of their lives so far.
"We enjoy our time together as a couple now that our daughter is gone," Carol said. "We have time to rediscover each other and new activities, and we lover mentoring other couples -- it is really inspiring."
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