Wienands celebrate six decades of marriage
The secret to their marriage has been upholding their wedding vows, serving each other sacrificially as lifestyle and their faith in God.
WESTVILLE residents, Pat and Elsa Wienand, celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this month.
They were married at the Dutch Reformed Church in Vanderbijlpark on 21 January 1956. Like any marriage, it has been one that has seen both tears and laughter. In a time when many marriages are falling apart, they have been able to hold their course, and stay true to one another.
Their secret is threefold; firstly, they meant it when they said, “for better or for worse,” secondly, they’ve made sacrifices for each other, and thirdly, a deep unfaltering faith in God. It’s a union that has seen four children, 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Despite the busyness of running their own construction company, when Pat and Elsa moved to Westville in 1969, they immediately started serving the community, which they have done ever since. They joined the Westville Lions Club, where Pat served for 35 years, holding the office of president for a term.
In the 1970s they were members of the Westville Theatre Club where they enthralled audiences with shows like Oklahoma, Aladdin, South Pacific and a number of Gaiety Theatres. While Elsa enjoyed dancing on stage, Pat was always hard at work leading the backstage crews.
During their children’s schooldays, they were the parents enthusiastically supporting from the sideline, and Elsa was one of the moms serving lunches and pouring teas. Pat was instrumental in 1980 in the building of the iconic Westville Boys’ High School’s cricket scoreboard, which can still be seen on Bowden’s Field today. The school still calls on him whenever there’s a job that’s needs to be done.
They’ve always believed in an outworking of their faith through the local church, and currently serve as deacons at OneCity Church that meets at The Westville Country Club, where Elsa runs her monthly women’s group, and Pat is involved in a men’s group, and is the “go-to guy” when something needs fixing.
Through the decades their marriage has been an example to all.
