A simple family gathering at the Dry Creek home of Fred and Lidia Loupy this past weekend marked their 75th wedding anniversary, their Diamond Jubilee.
They met through their families in the years after World War II and were married in 1949, at Saints Peter and Paul Church in North Beach.
Fred is now 96; Lidia will celebrate her 96th birthday in April.
The couple will be familiar to longtime Healdsburg residents as the former owners of Fred’s French Bakery—which eventually became Costeaux, on Healdsburg Avenue. The couple purchased the bakery in 1958 from its previous owners, and ran it until 1971.
Even while running the bakery, both remained active in community events, especially those surrounding Healdsburg High athletics, cooking for the sports awards dinners held at Villa Chanticleer. Fred Loupy was noted for ringing an old school bell whenever the Greyhounds scored a touchdown.
When they sold the bakery to Robert Dutil in 1971—it was purchased by Jean and Anne Costeaux in 1973—they retired to Dry Creek and planted a small zinfandel vineyard to make wine for their extended family and friends.
The small Feb. 4 gathering at their family home to commemorate their 75th anniversary was in contrast to some of their earlier anniversaries, often held at the B&B with much larger numbers in attendance.
They had six children, five of whom still survive, some of whom still live in the area. “It really is an honor to have parents who have survived 75 years of marriage and shared so much,” said Cathy Loupy, now living in Idaho and the youngest of the family. “We all feel the same way.”
