Pinetown couple’s love gleams golden

STAN and Sandy Wallace will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on 15 August, 2020.

They met each other in East London in 1968.

At the time, Sandy was teaching in Bulawayo and chose to spend Christmas with her parents, who were in a boarding house while they waited to occupy their new home.

Stan was a table boarder and was placed at Sandy’s parents’ table. Sandy and Stan had a couple of dates before she returned to Bulawayo.

She made her way back to East London for the Easter holidays to visit her parents in their new home.

As she did not know anyone in East London, she grew bored, but was given the idea by her mother to get in touch with Stan.

He had moved from the boarding house but, after some detective work, Sandy located his new lodgings.

His landlady suggested she leave a note and telephone number as he was out playing squash.

Within half and hour, he connected with her and, for the rest of the holiday, a romance blossomed.

Later on in the year he visited her in Bulawayo and he popped the all important question.

A six-month romance-by-correspondence ensued, before she immigrated to South Africa.

They were married at St. Saviour’s Anglican church in East London in 1970 and, as newly-weds, they lived in Cape Town, where he worked as an attorney.

After 11 months, the couple went overseas on an eight-month working holiday to the UK and Europe.

“When we returned, I expressed the desire to live in the green, green hills of Natal, so we moved to Pietermaritzburg where I worked as an attorney/conveyancer and she worked in the Education Department’s student loans section,” said Stan.

Five years later the couple moved to Durban, where their eldest son, Michael, was born.

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In 1980, they moved to Pinetown, where they still live today.

“Our second son, Brian, was born at St. Mary’s hospital, Mariannhill Monastery. He likes to bemuse people by saying he was born in a monastery!” laughed Sandy.

An important part of Sandy and Stan’s life is their involvement in their church. He attends the St. John the Baptist’s Anglican Church in Pinetown and she attends St. Agnes’ Anglican Church in Kloof.

He collects expired sell-by-date food and delivers it to Steve’s Kitchen at the Pinetown Methodist Church for distribution to the needy.

He also chairs his church group Ukukhuthaza, and they both help to buy food, pack and distribute parcels to HIV/AIDS and those in need. Sandy also belongs to a house-group, where she conducts a weekly Bible study for seniors.

They have two granddaughters, Mei and Miya. Michael, an assistant language teacher, married Miyuki in 2010, and they live in Japan.

Stan enjoys sport and, over the years, has played rugby, hockey, tennis, squash, golf and still swims at Lahee Park Swimming Pool.

He plays table-tennis at Bill Buchanan in Durban and is the only male among the females taking part in Senior Exercise classes in Cowies Hill.

He loves music and once played as a professional drummer in a rock band. Sandy pursues less physically energetic pastimes, such as Bible study, prayers, reading, family correspondence and solving crossword-puzzles.

They were considering a visit to Stan’s Swedish side of the family to celebrate the 50 years, but the lockdown has precluded this, so they will have a special family meal at home with Brian and a Skype session with their family in Japan to celebrate.

“Apparently chalk and cheese, but, actually, an example of give and take has cemented our lasting love relationship, during the years,” said the loving couple.

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At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.

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