Oos-Moot retirement village couples celebrate 60-plus anniversaries
Martie van Dalen, from the village, said they held a small gathering for the couples to celebrate these milestones.
Residents of Oos-Moot retirement village, Faan and Hester Botha achieved a major milestone when they celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary this year.
The Bothas are both from Messina in Limpopo.
Hester was in a local high school near where Faan was an apprentice at the mine.
So it came about that Faan and his friends were kicking a ball around on the school’s rugby field when Hester walked past from the school hostel to attend study class.
Faan noticed her and said to his friends, “I am going to marry her one day”.
He called a friend who knew her cousin and made a plan to meet her.
Hester’s father was the new pastor at the Volle Evangelie Kerk in Messina and they were still new to the area.
On April 21, 1956, they stood in front of the pulpit to get married and today they are still in love with each other.
They moved to Garsfontein in the east of Pretoria in the 80s where Faan went to work for hospital services. Upon his retirement, they moved to Oos-Moot retirement village, where they have been living for the past 20 years.
The Bothas have two children, Christo and Santie. They are also blessed with two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Another couple from the retirement village, Kobus and Rina Truter, also reached the 60 mark after being married for 61 years.
They have been residents of the village for the past 11 years.
The two met in Mountain View.
They tied the knot on March 4, 1961.
From their marriage, a daughter as well as a son, Hannie Greebe and Fred Truter, were born.
Martie van Dalen, from the village, said they held a small gathering for the couples to celebrate these milestones.
“We are very proud to be able to call them family. They are beautiful people who are still happily married couples. They are a wonderful example for us as residents,” said Van Dalen.
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