Elderly Farm Couple

Edward Stevens, 79, greets one of the cats that roam his property as he takes out the trash at his home in Van Buren, Ky. He and his wife of 57 years, Emma Jean, have two Saint Bernards and a collection of cats that adopted them.

Emma Jean Stevens sits while others stand during Wednesday night prayers at the Van Buren Church of Christ. She has trouble walking and uses a walker because of leg pain.

Ed Stevens talks with Larry Goodlett, a Spencer County sheriff's deputy, at the Skaggs Clinic in Taylorsville, Ky. Stevens was waiting while his wife, Emma Jean, got a medical check-up. "Emma Jean and (Goodlett's wife) are half-sisters, so I guess that makes us brothers-in-law, half brothers-in-law," Stevens said. "It's hard keeping up with all these kin folks."

Ed Stevens, 79, (right) talks with sons Eddie (center) and Forrest. The sons work together on several local farms, bailing hay, bulldozing and doing other jobs.

Forrest Stevens tells his his parents Ed and Emma Jean Stevens, whom he calls Pap Paw and Granny, good bye as he leaves their home after having coffee when the family after church on Wednesday.

Ed Stevens, 79, and his wife, Emma Jean, 76, laugh as they sit at their kitchen table and watch the rain. The Stevens have been married for 57 years and have seven children, six of whom still live in Anderson County.