Joyce and Dick Newman, aged 90 and 97 respectively, are celebrating 70 years of married life, but they almost didn’t get together after Dick was late for their first date.
Joyce and Dick Newman are sharing the secrets of a long and happy marriage after celebrating their platinum wedding anniversary.
“All you need is a good woman,” Dick says. “I’ve got one right here and I’m not letting her go.”
The Warkworth couple were married at St Aidan’s Anglican Church in Remuera on August 24 1946.
They first met in Ellerslie, passing each other on their way to work. Dick was in the army and altered his schedule to pass Joyce every day, as she went to and from work at a sewing factory. He even took to hanging off the back of a passing tram and waving at her.
“He asked if I would like to meet him for a night out in town,” Joyce says.
“He stood me up! He was lucky I stuck around and waited because at that time there were plenty of US servicemen around. He finally turned up … late.”
Joyce says the secret to a long and happy marriage is quite simple.
“Don’t spend all your time on those electronic devices ignoring each other. You need to communicate and he needs to do what I tell him.”
The couple have two children, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
