Together Forever – Celebrating Anniversaries
A lifetime together of shared memories and events, having built and enjoyed life with family and friends. With many couples now living in our care homes, often choosing to reside in our companion suites, we’re lucky that we get to celebrate wedding anniversaries as well as birthdays, and we recently enjoyed some significant landmark anniversaries for some of our long-wed couples. Here are just three examples of enduring love in our care homes.
Joyce & Jim – 70 years
Joyce Copper met Jim Timms in 1942 when they were both sixteen years old at a local dance in Essex. Joyce and her friend had unfortunately missed the last bus of the evening when Jim and his friends drove past on motorcycles and took them home. They were quickly separated due to both being in the army during World War II and stationed in different countries.
After a long few years of writing back and forth, Joyce and Jim were engaged on Epsom Derby Day in 1948 and married on the day of the Grand National, Saturday 26th March 1949. The ceremony was held in St Chads, Essex, and they travelled to Boscombe, near Bournemouth for their honeymoon.
Their daughter, Leslie, married a Head Teacher of a school in Bedfordshire, so Joyce and Jim made the move to Northamptonshire to keep the family close together. They also have one granddaughter, Nicola, and one great-granddaughter, Megan.
Joyce and Jim moved into Dukes Court Care Home, Wellingborough, on June 2018, and when we asked them what the key to a long and successful marriage is, Joyce replied, “Now and then have a good old row because the making up is brilliant!”.
Joan & Ken – 70 years
Joan and Ken Smith met at a dance at the Plaza in Derby. They married on 26th March in 1949 and enjoyed a honeymoon in Bakewell, Derbyshire.
They shared a love of dancing and spent many years enjoying this together, well into their 80s. Their favourite styles are Ballroom, Latin American, Modern and Sequence dancing and together they have celebrated many awards and victories. Sharing a love of nature, their garden was always beautifully kept.
Ken was in the navy, so the pair relocated around the country frequently, and have lived in a variety of towns and cities such as Birmingham, Ipswich, Glasgow, Derby and then to Northampton.
Joan and Ken fondly remember family holidays spent with the children and will talk of times when they hitchhiked in their youth. They have three children and now many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The team at Spencer House Care Home were there to celebrate their 70th anniversary!
Dolly & Eric – 74 years
Dorothy, better known as Dolly, and Eric Dowdy married in 1945. Eric was born in Northampton but lived in many places including London, Liverpool and Manchester. Starting his career as an actor, Eric performed with Northampton’s drama club at Abington Park and the Racecourse in Northampton. Some of Eric’s favourite plays include Hamlet, Twelfth Night and Restoration Comedies, leading to him starring in many Shakespearian productions at the Royal Theatre in town. Little did he know this was where he would meet Dolly, who was the Stage Manager.
Dolly went on to study music after attending her first school, a convent in Bedford. Both Dolly and Eric share a passion for music, in particular, Ivor Novello as well as opera. But more importantly, they still share a great sense of humour together.
They moved to Bristol and had three children who are all involved in acting and the theatre. Dolly cared for Eric before he moved into Cliftonville Care Home, but she has recently joined him at the home so that they can continue to be together.
Wishing you many more happy years together!
Love Avery x
Article by Abbie Strowbridge-Knight, Marketing Assistant, for Welcome Home Issue 10.
