Elphin Lodge residents celebrate 55 years together

Rand Aid’s Elphin Lodge residents George and Shirley McTaggart celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on 3 March.

Married in 1962, the couple said their retirement years at Elphin Lodge have been very good with wonderful neighbours. They have travelled extensively as retirees, visiting Australia and many wonderful domestic destinations.

Spokesperson for the lodge, Cathy Grosvenor said, “Shirley was born in the United Kingdom and George in Bloemfontein. After school, George went into the printing industry and Shirley, who moved to South Africa in 1948, into office work.

“After being introduced by a mutual friend, they went on their first date to a skating rink, which got their relationship off to a wobbly start because George was a natural skater and Shirley was not very coordinated.”

Just before their second wedding anniversary, they moved from their flat to a home in Norwood, where they lived for the next 34 years.

The couple has two sons, Andrew and Stephen, who both live in Johannesburg. They also have four granddaughters, two grandsons, and a great-grandson.

Read: Rand Aid board member retires after 17 years