“And they lived happily ever after.” It’s the dreamy-eyed stuff of which fairy tales are made. But every once in awhile fairy tales really do come true.

So goes the story of Lee and Audrey Higgins. They met in 1961 when Audrey worked for Travelers Insurance Agency and Lee was a broker at his family’s agency, D.S. Higgins Insurance.

“My boss introduced us,” said Audrey, 71. “He lives in a retirement home now and we go visit him and reminisce. I tell him, ‘If there’s one good thing you did in your life, this was it.’ We all just laugh.”

But it wasn’t love at first sight. It took several attempts before the handsome salesman convinced the lovely secretary to go with him for ice cream. But once she agreed, she never looked back.

“He’s such a neat guy,” said Audrey. “We still hold hands and love it. When you find your soul mate – that’s everything. It’s just everything.”

The two were married 40 years ago and soon began working together when Audrey joined Lee’s business. After daughter Laura was born, she became a stay-at-home mom until the girl entered junior high school. Audrey then returned to work part time.

Selling the family business in 1988 did nothing to slow down the couple. Retirement was not in the cards.

“He just wants to go, go, go,” said Audrey of her very active 80-year-old husband. “No one can believe how much energy he has. He doesn’t know what a rocking chair feels like. He likes the seat of a snowmobile or ATV better.”

Lee had quite enough of office work during his insurance days and wanted to do something different. Meanwhile, Audrey still loved the office atmosphere. Real estate seemed just the thing.

They’ve worked for ERA Dawson Bradford for 15 years. But it’s still a family business – Nancy Dawson is Lee’s niece.

“I said, ‘I’ll do the outside work, taking pictures and measuring rooms, and you do the inside work, talking to bankers and doing the paperwork,'” said Lee.

The couple has always done more than work together, however. They’re also deeply committed to volunteerism.

“You get back about 10 times more than you ever give,” she said. “I love this community. If you volunteer, you meet really nice people that are very special.”

As if all this weren’t enough, they also enjoy taking classes together.

“We’re still learning,” said Audrey. “I love Senior College [at the University of Maine]. We have taken several classes there. I also took flying lessons at Bangor Adult Education. Lee is a pilot and I wanted to learn safety maneuvers so I could at least set the plane down if something happened to him.”

Spending time with their three grandchildren, who live close by, is another favorite activity for the couple.

“They’ve brought so much joy to us,” said Audrey.

So what’s the secret to a long, happy marriage with so much togetherness?

“We work at it every day,” said Lee. “You can’t let things get off track. You have to address them as they come up and talk it out.”

The couple learned early on that if one of them was happy the other one would be, too. They don’t have time to waste over silly things, Audrey said.

“Well, if you don’t plan it that way, it can’t happen,” said Lee. “I said I was going to do the best thing I could for Audrey and she said the same thing about me. She’s my best friend. She’s the best there is. There’s none better.”

“We’re a team,” said Audrey, smiling as much with her eyes as her lips. “We just get closer and closer.”

Carol Higgins is communications director at Eastern Agency on Aging. For information on EAA, call 941-2865, log on www.eaaa.org, or e-mail us at info@eaaa.org.