Six decades of bliss

Jan and Hilda Louter, long-time residents of the suburb, celebrate six decades of marriage on 9 June but they both agree it feels like only yesterday they were married.

The couple met on Hilda’s 16th birthday but it was not love at first sight. In fact, they did not even share a dance at her party. Jan lived in the Free State and did not travel up to Johannesburg very often but their love still blossomed and four years later, they were married at the Central Methodist Church in 1956.

One of the couples’ children, Linda Woodburn, said her parents never fight and that they still spend an amazing amount of time and energy on their children. Jan is turning 87 and still works a full-time job in Ferndale.

According to the Louters it is the foundation of trust and knowing that you can not change the other person that has kept their marriage strong. “I want to say thank you to Hilda for just keeping quiet when I got cross,” said Jan Louter.

Whilst reminiscing over the early years, Hilda remembered how she tried to clean her engagement ring by placing it in a pot of methylated spirits on the stove. She forgot about her ring and one of the rubies fell out. She later had her wedding band and engagement ring fused and the ruby was replaced.

Jan can remember, after one of their rare and very first fights, Hilda had thrown her engagement ring back at him. When she later asked him where her ring was, Jan told Hilda he had sold it and convinced her to buy herself a new ring.

The Louters shared that one of the highlights of their marriage was the birth of their daughter Linda and the blessing of their two great grandchildren. The couple plans to celebrate their anniversary in November and will have an extra big celebration as Hilda turns 80 in the same month.

Related stories:

GALLERY: Honeydew couple celebrate 60 golden years