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Pat Boone Says God Was at Center of Marriage to Late Wife, Shirley

Pat Boone at the 28th Annual Movieguide® Awards

Pat Boone Says God Was at Center of Marriage to Late Wife, Shirley

By Allyson Vannatta, Senior Writer

Pat Boone recently opened up about how God was at the center of his marriage to his late wife of 65 years, Shirley Boone. Even though he says he misses her, what keeps him going is his faith and family.

Still living in the home they bought together in the 1960s, Pat told Closer Weekly, “I’m doing fine. I mean, gosh, I miss her,” talking about his beloved Shirley.

Shirley died in 2019 after a battle with vasculitis.

Before her death, the singer wrote a song called “You and I.”

“It expresses the thought that eventually we will be together in heaven,” he said.

Related: Shirley Boone, Wife of Pat Boone, Goes Home to Be With Jesus at the Age of 84

The couple started dating when they were only 16 years old, and then they got married in 1953.

“We made our commitment in marriage to God and to each other,” he said of their shared faith. “We make our own decisions, but we are helped supernaturally. [I’m] willing to be led in doing the right things.”

Pat had the utmost respect for his wife and his marriage, knowing that working in the entertainment industry could cause issues if they weren’t solid.

The entertainer recalled a time he asked Shirley for permission to have an onscreen kiss with a co-star, Shirley Jones, in APRIL LOVE.

He said his wife told him, “‘Look, if you’re going to do movies, I guess you’re going to be kissing. But promise me one thing. You won’t enjoy it.’ And I said, ‘I promise, I won’t.’”

The Christian actor went through a time of drinking and staying out late, which he says “could have broken up our marriage, but we recommitted ourselves. Marriage and family was the top priority.”

Pat and Shirley had four children together, and he knew his family was the most important thing in his life.

“My greatest accomplishment is our marriage of 65 years in Hollywood,” he said, “being an entertainer and my four kids. We’re living a good life.”

The actor has attended countless Movieguide® Awards. At the 2001 Awards, he said, “I have always been totally supportive since the beginning of Movieguide®. I’ve been in [Ted Baehr’s] corner. He’s like Moses and I am like Aaron, holding up his hand.”

The Christian explained, “Ted Baehr is a leader and he keeps reminding people in this industry, as well as Christians, that there are people who are successful and even making money in doing good things, and he draws attention to it.”

Pat is now working on a faith-based book titled If, according to Closer Weekly.