WORKING hard and being good to each other has been the recipe for Noleen and Keith Hendra’s successful marriage.
The Durban North couple, who celebrated their Golden Jubilee on Friday, October 14, says the best part of their marriage has been raising three wonderful sons together.
“They, in turn, have blessed us with two beautiful daughters-in-law and four granddaughters. We love having our family all living in Durban, as we spend many happy hours together,” said the Hendras.
Asked what has kept them together for so long, Noleen and Keith said that mutual respect and taking cognisance of each other’s views is important. Noleen says she enjoys taking care of Mother Earth.
“I’m doing all my recycling and trying to teach my grandchildren how to look after Mother Earth, too,” said Noleen.
Their love story began 54 years ago when Keith was invited to a New Year’s Eve Party, where he met Noleen and her sister Jennifer. Keith danced the night away with Jennifer.
After weeks of visiting Jenny at the Trinder-Smith home, Keith asked Noleen out on a date.
“My parents had a bus at the Vaal River, at a boating club. We spent a lot of time together there. Noleen used to come with us for weekends. We would go on Friday and come back Sunday afternoon, and it became more and more serious as time went on,” said Keith.
Keith recalls that although Noleen’s father was strict, he welcomed the news of them wanting to get married when he was approached for his blessing.
“When I started taking Noleen out, she was only sixteen and still in school. She was twenty when we got married. Her father still had to sign the register as she was underage. How things have changed since then!” he said.
The Hendras are not only congruent in holy matrimony but in business, too. The loving duo started an Estate Agency business, Hendra Estates, back in 1998. Ownership and management of the thriving business have since been taken over by their youngest son, Wayne. Their older sons run their own businesses: Ryan runs his own IT-support business and Tyrone owns a general-maintenance business.
“Having been married for fifty years, and having worked together for thirty of them, we have discovered each other’s strengths and weaknesses and use the knowledge of them to support each other in our daily lives,” they said.
The couple said they will be celebrating their 50th anniversary with close friends and family.
