Stories of Enduring Love Across Our Centres and Services

“We met at The Salvation Army Training College in 1961 in Melbourne,” tell Salvos Home Care Clients Russell and Betty. Their relationship first started as a friendship, before eventually moving into something more. Russell reflects on his wife Betty, noting that he most admires her “broad experience in the country hospital as a nurse”, whilst Betty tells, “he’s an outstanding person; what he has accomplished over the years.” The couple states that the secret to a happy relationship means being open and honest and treating each other with respect. 

Salvos Home Care Client Dorothy met her husband Cecil during her time at the Post Master General Department (“PMG”). “His brother was a technician, and I was a telephonist,” she says. “We met at a sports outing for PMG. The boys' team was short of players, so Cecil filled in. This is when our relationship started.” When reflecting on their joyful memories, Dorothy recalls moments big and small. “Meeting his friends, going to the movies. Joining in with him at sports and choosing my engagement ring,” she explains. As for Cecil’s fondest memory? “Our honeymoon in Cairns.”   

Kubirri Aged Care Centre (“Kubirri”) resident, Warren, has been at the Centre for 13 months, with his partner Helen visiting often. “I enjoy seeing him light up when I come to visit” she says. Helen has known Warren for over 50 years, first meeting him at a school fete. They have many fond memories. “When we travelled out west and up the bush, Warren was in his element. He had a lot of knowledge to share; this made the trips that much more interesting,” she states. “Relationships are like anything else; a lot of learning, accepting, forgiving, loving, respecting each other’s opinions, and our love has grown along with all these experiences.”

Trudie’s partner Tony is also a Kubirri resident. The pair first met in 1969, got married in 1971 and then they owned a winery together. “Tony and I, we had certain activities that we enjoy sharing but we also have our own areas that we are interested in, and we both had a lot of different activities, community activities, some of them shared, some of them not,” she explains. “We’re both very independent people and that’s what we like, and we both do enjoy getting involved in things, and that’s something that we share in terms of what we like about each other.”  

Salvos Home Care Client, John, has known his wife for 69 years and reflects that simple joy of their relationship is “time spent together.” When reflecting on what he most admires about his wife, he states it's her “love for our children”, with the secret to a happy relationship, “being open to each other.”   

Bethany Aged Care Centre resident (“Bethany”), Felice’s husband, Bruce, visits the Centre often. The pair have known each other for more than 65 years after first having met at a local dance before eventually marrying. Felice notes that what she admires about Bruce is his admiration for her. “Bruce still thinks I’m the most beautiful girl in the room,” she explains.