Couple renews vows at 50th anniversary

It was probably an ordinary day for many but for Jaap (69) and Ricka (69) van Nieuwenhuizen Saturday (March 18) marked their golden wedding anniversary.

“We met in 1965 and although it was love at first sight for me I had to keep trying several times to get her attention,” said Jaap.

“She used to pass by my house with her then boyfriend and I would say to her ‘hello blonde’ to which she would reply ‘leave me alone’.

“Her reaction never discouraged me because I continued greeting her every time I saw her.”

Ricka said Jaap’s persistence eventually convinced her to talk to him.

“There was a time when he told me that he was only greeting, and not asking to marry me,” she said.

“We laughed it off and started talking more often soon after that.”

Jaap told the GCN that he was wild as a young man, but this all changed when Ricka started showing an interest in him.

“When I saw I had a chance to be with her I changed my ways,” he said.

“The more I spoke and spent time with him the more I realised what a good man he is and that is what attracted me to him,” said Ricka.

The Dinwiddie couple got married on March 18, 1967 at the Dutch Reformed Church in Germiston.

The couple have plenty of things in common but say that two of their favourites are that they were born in the same month and in the same hospital.

“We are the same age, both born in September and at the Kinross Nursing Home in Germiston,” said Ricka.

Jaap and Ricka have four children: Ria Joubert, Hendrick van Nieuwenhuizen, Hester Marais and David van Nieuwenhuizen.

They also have nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

In honour and celebration of their anniversary the couple renewed their vows at the Old Apostolic Church of Africa in Hazeldene on Sunday.

When asked about the secret to their long-lasting marriage they both agreed that they trust each other, trust in God and never go to bed angry with each other.

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