IN just two weeks, residents Barbara and Robin Hatton will celebrate their diamond anniversary. On October 5, the couple will be surrounded by friends and family, to commemorate their 60th wedding anniversary.
The couple says they started out as childhood friends. “I moved from Zululand to Cromwell Road when I was 12, and Robin, who was 15 at the time, became one of my brother’s good friends and really gave us a warm welcome to the neighbourhood,” said Barbara. Robin, who has stayed in Durban his whole life, says they began dating when they were a bit older in 1959. “We were both very involved in the Bulwer Baptist Church and in sport, and she’s always had a lovely personality, and we just got on like a house on fire.”
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Robin and Barbara got married on October 5, 1963 at the Bulwer Baptist Church. “The wedding day was wonderful. Robin comes from a big family with six siblings, and all his siblings were there along with my family and my brother, and we were all very close, so it was a great celebration,” said Barbara.
Robin still boasts about how Barbara made her own wedding dress.
“She made it within a couple of months – between work shifts, she would work on it, and on the day, she looked absolutely stunning.”
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The Hattons went on to have a son who now lives in Cape Town, and they are the proud grandparents to their grandson and granddaughter. Speaking about what keeps the spark alive, Barbara says patience is key. “Keep God present in your relationship, and listen to one another. The things I love about Robin are that he is kind and generous, he’s a wonderful father and he has a loving heart. It’s important to remember the reasons why you fell in love in the first place.”
About his wife, Robin says that she was a wonderful homemaker, and she always remained true to who she was and the woman who he fell in love with. “She’s a wonderful mother, and she has a heart of gold.”
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