81 years, one birthday card: the remarkable friendship of two 90-something friends

By The Washington Post | Published Apr 11, 2025

For 81 years, two friends have been sending the same birthday card back and forth. What began between two 14-year-old girls in 1944 has become a Guinness World Record attempt and a testament to lifelong friendship. "Neither one of us can remember who started it," says Pat DeReamer, now 95, of the tradition she shares with Mary Kroger, 94, that has outlasted marriages, moves, and nearly a century of life changes.