Port Macquarie couple John and Betty Gribble will celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary on January 20.
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They caught each other’s attention at ice skating.
John and Betty were engaged in six weeks and married in five months.
Fast forward 73 years and John and Betty remain in love and still hold hands in front of the television.
The couple will enjoy a lunch with family to mark their 73rd wedding anniversary.
They married on January 20, 1945 at St Anne’s in Strathfield followed by a reception in the same suburb.
John organised a friend in South Australia to import a dozen bottles of champagne for the occasion.
Betty made her wedding dress.
It was the war years and coupons were required for material to make Betty’s wedding and bridesmaid dresses.
They went on to have four children – Robyn, Graham, Kym and Sally.
“We wanted four children which fortunately we got, and they have been absolutely wonderful children, still are,” Betty said.
“If you want to be married and have children and love them, that’s the recipe for a good marriage.”
John’s job with The National Bank took the family to new locations every couple of years.
Betty worked in a range of capacities including as a dressmaker, pottery teacher and porcelain doll business owner.
She still loves sewing.
John says married life is great.
“I think it’s marvellous,” he said.
John said every person was different when it came to marriage.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but if you can ride with that and keep going, that means you are going to have an everlasting relationship,” he said.
Betty says love is important.
John agrees: “The underlying thing has got to be a basic love for each other.”
John and Betty, who are both 93, have nine grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.