Double celebration for Queensburgh couple
The couple says it wasn't a smooth road but their faith has made their love for each other strong.
THERE are two special days coming up for Richard and Dulcie Hamlett of Queensburgh. The couple celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary on March 26 and Richard turns 84 on the same day. The couple said they met in East London where they were born and grew up. After dating for a few years, they got married on Richard’s 21st birthday.
“It wasn’t as easy as that,” said Dulcie. “We were very young so Richard had to ask my father first. ”Richard was working at a cinema in East London when Dulcie first saw him. She said she knew from the moment she laid eyes on him that she had to get to know him better.
“He had a double-breasted blazer on, and he looked amazing. I looked at him and thought, wow!” she said. After chatting to him, Richard and Dulcie began seeing each other on weekends. In 1969, Richard left for Durban to start a job at the Durban Harbour.
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“I missed Dulcie so much that I asked her to marry me and come to Durban with me. We were so young at the time. She was 19, and I was 20. She asked me to speak to her father who also said we were young and should first get engaged,” said Richard.
On November 7 that year, the couple got engaged, but when Richard returned to East London from Durban for the December holidays, he said he could not handle the distance between the two of them anymore and wanted to get married. “I told Dulcie that we’ll get married on my birthday. We missed each other too much. I spoke to Dulcie’s father, and we got married on my 21st birthday,” said Richard.
Two years later, on 9 March 1962, their first child was born: a boy named Shane.
Three years later, their daughter, Michelle, came along. Together, they have five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. The couple has always called Durban home, although they did spend 20 years in Vryheid after Richard was boarded off from work due to a heart problem.
“My daughter had just become a mother, and we went to help with the children,” said Dulcie.
The couple then moved back to Durban when they were in their 60s. They’ve lived at Flame Lily Park for 16 years, where they were also caretakers of the property, ran a shuttle service and assisted with administration in the frailcare unit.
“Richard can’t walk very well, and my eyesight has diminished, so we both can no longer work here, but it is home, and we have family here which we are so grateful for,” said Dulcie.
Their advice to newlyweds or couples wanting to get married is to communicate and always do things together. “We are very strong in our faith and have always put God first in our marriage and home,” said Richard. He also said that it’s okay to not have the house, car and everything of the best when couples first start out.
“There’s nothing wrong with working together to build the life that you both want. After we paid the deposit for our first flat, we ate bread and jam for a bit, but we did it on our own and got through it,” said Richard. They also advised that couples don’t go into debt by taking loans and buying items on credit but to rather save money for what they need. “One last important thing is to never argue in front of your children,” said Dulcie.
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