FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT: Bill Mixon

1. Bill Mixon and his wife, Mary, were married 61 years before Mary died. The couple met as children at Manatee Methodist Church.

2. Bill Mixon used to think poetry was for "sissies," but now enjoys writing it.

3. Bill Mixon wanted to have his home built before he married his wife. He paid $4,500 in materials and constructed his first home with the help of his father. He and Mary used money from the sale of her car to buy a bedroom suite.

4. Bill Mixon once tried to make extra money by buying, raising and selling a hog. In the end, he made only 20 cents off of it. "That was the end of my hog business," he says.

5. Bill Mixon says he has "adopted" his son's church in North Carolina and enjoys helping it however he can.

Read more about Bill Mixon in this week's Neighbors.