Five decades of wedded bliss

JEANNE and Vowden Nimmo will be celebrating their 50th anniversary on Friday 14 March.

The lovebirds met at school in Luanshya, Zambia in 1959 and started dating in 1961 when Jeanne was 16 and Vowden was 18 years old.

They got married on 14 March 1964 and had their first son, Gavin at the end of 1966. Their second son, Michael was born in 1968.

In 1973, the family decided to emigrate to SA and moved to Durban.

After a few more moves they eventually settled in Empangeni in 1981 where they stayed until 1994. They then decided to buy their own business and moved back to Durban.

In February, 1995 they bought Pinetown Nursing Home which they have owned and run for the past 19 years.

“It has been the most rewarding and pleasurable 19 years of our lives, and we have loved every minute of it, seeing the way our wonderful staff look after all the residents at the home and the built-in entertainment provided every day by all their antics.

“All in all we have had a very interesting and exciting life, with motorbike racing being the first love in the male part of the household for many years, with Jeanne tagging along as always to all the events, as enthusiastic as the rest of the family,” said Vowden.

After 50 years of marriage, Jeanne and Vowden still go to gym and also enjoy scuba diving as a recreational sport.

They have three granddaughters and one grandson, who all live in Durban.

“It is a privilege being able to see so much of them,” they said.

Life is never a bed of roses and it has lots of ups and downs but the Nimmos’ believes that a recipe for a good long marriage is being good friends and putting up with each other through thick and thin, making it possible to spend and enjoy time together.