Loving embrace holds true after 65 years

“WHEN you know you’ve found the one, you’ve got to keep her,” said Bill Pretorius, on the eve of his, and his wife Kathleen’s 65th wedding anniversary.

The doting Cowies Hill couple celebrated 65 years of marriage on Wednesday 8 October.

They both lived in the southern suburbs of Johannesburg, around the corner from each other, and their mothers knew each other, but the first time they met was on the way to church one Sunday afternoon in 1947.

“I was on the bus going to church and who should be running to catch up with the bus, but Kathy. I helped her up onto the moving bus and we have been together ever since. I have never let go,” said Bill.

Kathy was then a bridesmaid at a mutual friend’s wedding and this is where Bill said they really got a chance to learn more about each other. On their first date they went dancing at the Alberton Hotel, where Bill proposed. A year into their engagement the couple went on their first holiday together and chose Margate as the choice destination. “Bill’s mom and dad accompanied us but to get away from them we hired a tandem bicycle and went on our own adventures,” said Kathy.

They were married on 8 October in 1949 at the Catholic Church in Braamfontein by Father Kevin Flood. For their honeymoon they went to Rustenburg and stayed a the Wig Wam for a week. The couple’s favourite trip together was on a three-month safari with their son.

“We had three children, Ann (64), Alan (62) and Brian, who died from heart complications when he was 42 years old. We are the proud grandparents of five and are lucky to have four wonderful great grandchildren,” said Kathy.

Bill worked as a training manager for Irvin and Johnson and organised the feeding schemes for the mining industry. Kathy was a shorthand typist and a secretary and ran the 1820s Settlers branch in Springs. They became a part of the Highway community in 1991 when they purchased their home in Cowies Hill.

They both agreed that the strength in their marriage came from their faith. “When we were married we took our vows and stuck to them. I like to think that we are living out our vows. We were told that they always came first,” said Bill.

To celebrate the milestone in their marriage they will have a luncheon with family and friends.