The Woods celebrate 60 years of love

MARRIAGE is a life long commitment. These are the sentiments shared by Anne and Collin Woods, a couple who recently celebrated their diamond anniversary. “There is no secret to being together for so long. I just think that with our generation, when people got married they understood that it was a life-long commitment. We’ve had many storms but we’ve always been able to reconcile. We love each other,” explained Anne. She said they approach married life with a ‘fix it’ mentality. “If something is broken, you don’t just give up on it. You fix it.”

The Flame Lily Park residents met at their siblings’ wedding. “My brother was getting married in Vryheid and he asked me to be his best man. I agreed and looked forward to meeting my brother’s sister-in-law. As it turned out, I was impressed with his in-laws, especially their daughter,” recalled Collin. While he was his brother’s best man, Anne was her sister’s bridesmaid and just two years later, the roles were reversed. “We married on 24 March 1956 and have enjoyed a wonderful life together,” he added.

The Woods have two children who both live overseas, five grandchildren and a newly born great-grandchild who they look forward to meeting later this year. “Our children live in Australia and America and some of the best times we’ve had in our lives include the trips we’ve taken overseas. We’ve visited theme parks in America and we’ve seen very nice places in Australia,” said Anne. They raised their children as Christians and said God had been the centre of their lives. “We are grateful that our children are both happily married for over 30 years and also grateful to God that we’ve never experienced any tragedies in our lives,” she said.

ollin said the best things about his wife are her cooking and baking skills and the fact that she’s an excellent wife overall,while Anne said his gentlemanly manner and the love for his family are what had made Collin a great father and husband.