An Elsies River couple has celebrated an extraordinary 65 years of marriage and are still going strong.
Stephan, 92, and his wife Margaret Petersen, 88, on Saturday held a bash with their five children, 15 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren at the Skilpadvlei Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.
The elderly couple have outlived two of their children and also lost one grandchild.
Stephan and Margaret live with their eldest daughter, Berenice Williams, 60, and are also cared for by their other daughter, Manecia Botha, 59.
Manecia, speaking on behalf of her parents, says it is wonderful for them as children to still see the deep love her parents have for one another.
She says they love to keep up to date with news and read the Daily Voice elke dag.
MILESTONE: Stephan, 92, Margaret Petersen, 88, married for 65 years. Photo: Supplied
“My dad waits every day for the shop to open and buys his Daily Voice,” Manecia says.
“My mother and father have been married for 65 years and it is the love and respect for one another that is the secret behind their long marriage.
“I am caring for them together with my sister and I observe on a daily basis the love and respect they have for one another,” she says.
Manecia says her parents are “perdfris en gesond”, except for a bit of high blood pressure now and then.
“They are still very healthy and whenever they are sick, we as the children and grandchildren are at their sides,” she says.
CONFECTIONERY: Cake for a special occasion. Photo: Supplied
“They have the usual ou mens kwale, like high blood pressure and have difficulty in hearing.
“My dad is still able to walk to the shop for my mother.”
The couple tied the knot in Rugby in 1954 after dating for a few years.
“They met at a sports field where Margaret played netball.
“They grew up in Rugby and my dad met my mother on a sports field in Rugby one day while my mother played netball,” explains Margaret.
“My dad was a glamorous young man and loved to dress up.
“He would visit the sports field each week to give my mother chocolates.”