These lifelong Louisville friends have been exchanging same birthday card for 80 years

    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) -- In Louisville, Pat DeReamer marked a major milestone as she celebrated her 95th birthday on Tuesday.

What makes her story even more special is a tradition that began on April 1, 1944 with her lifelong friend, Mary Wheaton.

The pair first met during World War II when DeReamer and her family moved to Indianapolis in 1942.

"I didn’t know very many people. So, Mary kind of picked me up out of the gutter and kind of, you know, was nice to me. We became really good friends," said DeReamer.

On DeReamer’s 14th birthday, Wheaton gifted her a greeting card.

Decades later, on her 95th birthday, that very same card was once again delivered to her door. For the past 80 years, the two friends have exchanged the same card annually, carefully signing and dating it each time.

“We never said, 'We’re going to do this.' At least, I don’t remember ever saying that. It just happened. After about five years, it just… every year we’d talk about it, and it would give us some reason to call each other and talk,” DeReamer said.

On the card’s 60th year of exchange, the friendship hit the global stage, earning them the title of the "Longest Greetings Card Exchange" in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“I think one of my children came up with the idea that this card had been going back and forth for so many years,” said DeReamer.

Now in their 90s, the two friends don't get time together as frequently as before, but their connection remains unshakable.

“I think as you get older, you don’t seem to … you’re supposed to have more time, but we don’t seem to have as much time to share as we did when we were younger,” DeReamer said.

That's not the only card DeReamer will be sending. With her birthday falling on April Fools' Day, she has a tradition of her own to uphold as well. She sends cards out to friends and family, wishing them a happy birthday on April 1, too.

Their incredible story is far from over. The card will soon make its journey back to Wheaton in May for her 95th birthday.