Some couples leave a mark on their community with a single gesture—John and Marlene McCollum have filled Opelika with beauty, one flower bed at a time. Their home and yard have become a fixture in the city’s annual beautification competition, and about five years ago, they took home the top prize.

Now residents of The Harbor at Opelika, John and Marlene’s story is as enduring as the gardens they’ve tended. High school sweethearts who have now shared 73 years of marriage, they are the heart of a family that includes two children, Deborah and Wes, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Their devotion to each other and their family is woven through every chapter of their lives.

Their roots in the Opelika community run deep, especially at First Baptist Church. Since the 1960s, the church has been a second home.

Marlene led young hearts as a Sunday school teacher for five-year-olds, while John drove the church bus—making sure college students got a ride to Sunday service. In the 1970s, the couple helped launch a college ministry alongside Betty Baggott, the pastor’s wife, serving up home-cooked lunches and warm fellowship to hundreds of students finding their place far from home.

John’s work life is a slice of Alabama history. He owned the storied Bottle Store in Farmville, a crossroads landmark once marked by a towering 64-foot wooden Nehi soda bottle (built in 1924 to advertise the Opelika Nehi bottling plant). Though the bottle itself burned down in the 1930s, the store lived on—serving as general store, gas station, and at times, a dance hall with an open-air deck above the pumps. John bought the Bottle Store in 1958 from John Frederick Williams, carrying on its legacy before moving on to sell cars at a local dealership and later working security at Auburn University. Even in retirement, he stayed active in the community, greeting families with genuine warmth at Jeffcoat Funeral Home.

Marlene’s story is just as rich. She worked at Montgomery Fair, the beloved department store that eventually became Gayfers and then Dillard’s. But her greatest joy was always at home—raising her children and caring for relatives who needed a gentle hand. She’s legendary for her banana pudding and for making biscuits nearly every day, a tradition her son Wes still remembers fondly: “My friends would always ask if I had biscuits for breakfast, because they knew there would be leftovers to share after school.”

Wes also recalls his father’s quiet acts of love—like showing up to mow the lawn when life got too busy. For the McCollums, love has always been shown more in actions than in words.

Family trips have come and gone, but for John and Marlene, the best times have always been right at home—surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends, with games, laughter, and stories filling the rooms. Those simple moments, gathered close with loved ones, are what they cherish most of all.



If you haven’t met the McCollums yet, we invite you to stop by and say hello. Their stories, rooted in family, faith, and decades of Opelika history, are a gift they love to share.