Chub, aged 101, and Rita, 96, married in the Holy Trinity Church in Greymouth on February 10, 1943, after meeting at one of the regular dances at Schaefers Dance Hall.
They say enjoying each other’s company and sticking together in times of strife and sickness has made their marriage well worth each day.
The couple, originally from the West Coast, now live at Northbrook Villas.
Chub was born at Rewanui and Rita at Blackwater.
The young couple lived in Rununga, where Chub joined the Rununga Volunteer Fire Brigade, which was formed in 1943. Today, he is the only surviving life member.
They later moved to Christchurch, where they bought a dairy.
Chub worked at a sawmill as there was not enough work for two at the dairy, before moving on to a bread delivery round.
He also delivered the Christchurch Star and Sport Extra in the evenings.
They sold the dairy after seven years and built a house in Emlyn Place, off Avonside Drive. Chub continued his early-morning deliveries for the bakehouse and worked at a sheetmetal factory in the afternoon.
They owned a caravan and a bach at Kairaki Beach, and moved into a townhouse in St Martins, which became a victim of the Canterbury earthquakes.
On retiring, they spent up to six days a week at the bach, enjoying whitebaiting and salmon fishing — activities their adult children and grandchildren now enjoy.
Travel played a huge part in their lives, spending every winter for 12 years in Australia.
Chub and Rita had three children, Sandra, Jill and Peter, and have seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
