Just married … for 60 years
FAIRLAND – Lou and Fritzi Schwab are celebrating 60 years of marriage and 50 years in South Africa.
‘The secret to a long marriage is patience.’ These were the words of Fritzi Schwab (80) when asked what her secret is to her marriage that has lasted over half a century.
Fritzi and her husband Ludwig (82), commonly known as Lou, will be married for 60 years on 7 September which will mark their diamond jubilee. This year they are also celebrating their 50th year and golden jubilee in South Africa (SA).
The pair started a tradition in 2007 where, every 10 years, they reach out to the Northcliff Melville Times about making it through another decade. Their 2007 article was titled Their ‘flowers’ still bloom, published in a much different newspaper.
The two are originally from Germany, Lou being the yin to Fritzi’s feisty yang. They met during their schooling careers and dated for about six years before getting married.
While the two are from Germany, they married in Canada after Fritzi moved to be with Lou who was working in the country at the time. The pair later returned to Germany but decided against staying and moved to sunny South Africa instead.
Lou and Frizti have three children and fondly refer to their family as an international one. “The eldest was born in Germany, the other in Canada and the last in South Africa. They all have at least two passports,” Lou laughed.
In addition to being parents of three, Lou and Fritzi are proud grandparents to three as well.
Although the pair is in their 80s, they are far from being sickly and elderly. Lou explained that they play tennis twice a week, to which Fritzi quipped that Lou may play twice a week but she plays three to four times.
While Fritzi feels patience is the secret to being married for six decades, Lou said compatibility plays a big role. He said, quite honestly, that they got lucky.
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