Bad service brought David, 95, and Pauline Patterson, 94, together a lifetime ago, and earlier this month, they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

The couple spent most of their lives in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, and then moved to the Helen Keller Society in Pinelands in 2022 to live close to their youngest son, Alan, 65, who stays with his family in Milnerton.

Their other son, Derek, 66, lives in Mauritius, and they have five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

The couple first met in Durban. At the time, Pauline, who was from Port Elizabeth, was staying in a hotel there while on a cruise with friends, and David, who was from Benoni, was staying at a different hotel with his friends, but they were unhappy with the service and moved to the same hotel as Pauline.

After their meeting in Durban, David and Pauline wrote to each other for a year to stay in touch.

“Then David moved down to Gqeberha to look for work,” says Pauline.

The couple married on February 5, 1955.

Having worked as an electrician on the mines, David was hired as an electrician for a municipality, and he worked there until his retirement in the late 1980s. Pauline worked as a credit controller at a bank and then for chocolate companies until her retirement.

David says they are very compatible as a couple, and while they have their disagreements “we settle it quickly”.

Pauline adds, “It is also wonderful to be close to family. At least they are on your doorstep.”

They attribute their longevity to living active lifestyles. David played golf when he was younger, and while he can’t anymore because of his failing eyesight, he still walks and does the Rondebosch Common 5km parkrun every Saturday. Pauline, who played tennis, swam and did gymnastics when she was younger, now enjoys knitting and playing Sudoku.

David and Pauline celebrated their anniversary with family at the Milnerton home of Alan and his wife, Manuela, on Sunday February 9.

Manuela notes that this followed a celebration, on Wednesday February 5, at a Melkbosstrand restaurant.

“It is incredible that they are alive, they are together, they have a strong love for each other. They are a wonderful couple, a model to society.”

Alan adds, “These days not too many people may reach that milestone.”

David and Pauline Patterson, on their wedding day, with best man Lawson Gunn and bridesmaid Sheila Long.

David and Pauline Patterson surrounded by their family last Christmas in Milnerton.

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Bad service leads to lifetime together