Frogners renew wedding vows after more than 70 years

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By LeAnn R. Ralph 

COLFAX  — After more than 70 years of being happily married, Dr. David and Ethel Frogner have enjoyed their life together so much, they wanted to do it all again.

And so they did.

The Frogners renewed their wedding vows in an afternoon ceremony held in The Square at the Colfax Health and Rehabilitation Center on Friday, April 15.

Reverend Jordan Herrick, the pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Colfax, officiated the ceremony.

The Square was filled with friends and family who gathered to honor Dr. David and “Eckie” (as Mrs. Frogner is known to her close friends) while they renewed their wedding vows.

Mrs. Frogner wore a veil made of white tulle and a wrist corsage of red roses to mark the occasion.

Following the ceremony, Dr. Frogner, who served as a dentist in Colfax for more than 30 years, said a few words for the benefit of his bride and the assembled guests.

Life, he said, can have many ups and downs, “but love will get you through it.”

Colfax Health and Rehab is a wonderful place to live and is filled with angels, Dr. Frogner said.

The sweetest and most lovely angel of them all is his dear wife, Eckie, he said.

Following the ceremony, a reception for the happy couple was held at The Square.

Dr. and Mrs. Frogner are both lifelong residents of the Colfax area.

Dr. Frogner grew up in Colfax. 

Mrs. Frogner grew up on a farm in Cooks Valley.

Both of them, however, graduated from Colfax High School. 

During an interview for a Christmas story in December of 2017, Mrs. Frogner said she was an “outdoor” person who helped with chores on the farm when she was growing up.

Dr. Frogner has lived his entire life in Colfax except for when he was away at dental school and for a four-year period when he gave dairy farming a try.

For the December of 2017 interview and during another interview in June of 2019 for the 100th anniversary of the Colfax Free Fair, Dr. Frogner recalled an amazing array of details and stories about events that occurred in Colfax when he was growing up.

Dr. David and Mrs. Frogner were married August 21, 1951, at St. John’s Catholic Church.

For the renewal of their wedding vows, their daughter, Lynn, handed out copies of the article that had been printed in the Eau Claire Leader after they were married.

A search of the Colfax Messenger in August of 1951 revealed that the same article from the Eau Claire Leader also had been printed in the August 30, 1951, edition of the Messenger.

Here is the article announcing the marriage of Ethel Sykora and David Frogner:

Miss Ethel Sykora, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Sykora, Sr., Colfax, became the bride of David Frogner, son of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Frogner, Elk Mound, Tuesday, August 21.

The Rev. Leo Novitz read the 8 a.m. double ring nuptials in the rectory of St. John’s Catholic Church in Cook’s Valley.

The bride pinned a corsage of red and white roses to her gold suit. Her accessories were navy blue.

Attending the bride, Miss Letty Prince, Colfax, wore a navy blue suit with gold accessories and a corsage of red and white carnations.

Mrs. Sykora chose a gray figured sheer dress worn with black accessories and a corsage of white carnations for the wedding. The bride-groom’s mother wore a rose suit with black accessories and a corsage of white carnations. A reception was held at the Sykora home at 12:30 p.m.

As the couple left for a wedding trip to northern Minnesota, the bride wore a gold figured sheer dress with white accessories.

Mr. and Mrs. Frogner are making their home at Rt. 2, Elk Mound. — Eau Claire Leader.