Kathy and Ev celebrate of 65-years of love
Sometimes the one you were meant to spend the rest of your life with is right in front of you, such is the story of Kathy and Ev who celebrated their 65-year wedding anniversary this week
MBOMBELA – Kathleen (84) and Everard (85) Saayman celebrated their 65-year anniversary on Wednesday. Their secret is communication, their shared love of adventure and having the same values. The pair, better known as Kathy and Ev, also cite perseverance.
“Couples nowadays do not persevere. At the first sign of trouble, they run to the divorce court,” said Kathy.
They met when they were 16 and 17 years old, in East London in the Eastern Cape. At the time, Kathy had been dating Ev’s older brother.
They woould not say how he felt about the new arrangement, but he went on to marry someone else.
Kathy and Ev married at age 19 and 20 on August 23, 1952 in Cathcart, also in the Eastern Cape.
“At the time we were adults. It was normal to get married at that age, but today you find 30-year-olds who still want to play the field,” Kathy added.
Ev was born in East London, where his parents were farmers. He is the second of three boys. Kathy was born in Pretoria. She was the only girl among seven brothers. Her parents, who were also farmers, moved to East London when she was young.
After the pair got married, Ev continued to farm while Kathy worked as a receptionist at a hotel in the town.
In 1955 they moved to Zimbabwe and later Botswana, where they lived for seven years while Ev worked for the veterinary department. The Saaymans returned to South Africa, where they continued to live in several places across the country.
They moved to the Lowveld 15 years ago and first lived in Marloth Park and then later White River. As of Monday, they are residents of the SAVF Herfsakker Old Age Home. They have three children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
“We’ve been blessed, not with money, but God has blessed us all our lives” said Kathy.
Despite this being a monumental milestone for the Saaymans, it is also a challenging one. Kathy was diagnosed with kidney cancer two weeks ago. She was diagnosed after being admitted to Mediclinic Nelspruit for bronchitis.
They were, regardless of the bad news, able to celebrate their anniversary with their family on Saturday.
The celebrations also formed part of Ev’s birthday on Monday. Some of their grandchildren travelled from as far as Europe and the Middle East to come wish their grandparents well.
