Bill and Iris Watts, at their Woodhaugh St home yesterday,
hold a photo of their 1943 wedding. The couple will
celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary today. Photo by
Peter McIntosh.
The word "caring" has several layers of meaning for Bill
and Iris Watts, who will celebrate their 65th wedding
anniversary today.
The lively Dunedin couple, who are "at the thick end of
[their] 80s", married in 1943 and say they have enjoyed
caring for one another since.
The pair met at a party in Dunedin in the late 1930s, soon
after Mrs Watts moved to the area from Napier with family.
When World War 2 began, Mr Watts volunteered for the infantry
before transferring to a radar operations unit.
His father served in World War 1, and warned him of being in
the thick of a war of attrition.
"I thought 'right, I'm not going to be a footslogger'," he
said.
He was granted special leave to return from service as a
radar operator in the Pacific to marry Iris in 1943.
After the war, the couple settled in Dunedin and raised four
sons.
"I couldn't believe it when a son told me they were turning
63 - I don't feel 60 myself," Mrs Watts said yesterday.
Although she was often at the copper washing up to 40 shirts
each weekend, she was an active sportswoman and took many
wickets for the Grange Cricket Club, played netball and had a
keen interest in dance.
The couple later owned Watts Food Store, managed hotels and
were custodians at Kaikorai Valley College before retirement
to Green Island.
"You realise the honeymoon does not last forever. But
marriage is a commitment you either make, or you don't. We
have really loved and cared for one another for all these
years," Mr Watts said.
Mrs Watts said Bill was a "fantastic husband" and was moved
to tears at her recent birthday celebrations when he recited
a poem describing his enjoyment of their life together.
Mr Watts said there was no "secret" to their long marriage;
they enjoyed each other's company and had a strong commitment
to family life, which saw them turn to each other in times of
adversity.
Mrs Watts has suffered ill health following a stroke in the
1980s, and her husband has cared for her at home for almost
20 years.
"They wanted to keep Iris at the hospital [after one
episode], but I thought `I think we should try and prove a
point here'," Mr Watts said.
The couple will celebrate their anniversary with family in
Dunedin today.
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