Bioscope proposal seals half century of love
"I saw her for the first time that day and I knew in my heart I was going to marry her."
IT was love at first sight for Pieter Van der Merwe when he laid eyes on his wife of 50 years, Susanna ‘Sannie’ Eramus in 1965.
18-year-old at the time living in Pretoria, Sannie was visiting her friend who invited her to her house when she met Pieter who was then 20.
“I saw her for the first time that day and I knew in my heart I was going to marry her. I knew she was made for me,” said Pieter.
He plucked up the courage to ask her out and with no time wasted, took her to the bioscope and asked her to marry him. “Why wait when I knew she was the one I wanted to spend my life with. So I got down on one knee at the bioscope and slipped a ring onto her finger. Thankfully she accepted my proposal,” he said.
A year after their fateful meeting they walked down the aisle on 23 December, 1966. She became a housewife, raising their three children and he worked a Spoornet before retiring in 2009. They moved from Pretoria to Durban, Montclair in 1977 where they made it their permanent home.
Fifty years and millions of memories later, the sweet couple was joined by their closest friends and family where they had a dinner function at a restaurant last December to celebrate another milestone in their ever-growing relationship.
“Like normal marriages we had our ups and downs, but we never went to sleep angry at each other. We were each other’s support and together we solved our problems,” said Sannie.
She recalls the day she met him when she was struck by how handsome, well-dressed and charming he was. “He was a very prim and proper type of man. Although he has his moods, Piet never failed to show me how much he loved him and I love him,” she added.
“My Sannie is forever smiling, it’s what I love about her. She’s always friendly, thoughtful and has this great love for others. When she laughs the whole room fills up and she is always joking. I think that’s what made me fall in love with her. Her energy just attracted me to her and I never want it to end,” said the smitten Pieter.
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