A MARRIED couple at a Kent care home reflected on their marriage of 65 years for the recent ‘National I Care About You Day’ – crediting that “saying sorry if you’re in the wrong and telling each other that you love them” is the recipe for a long and happy relationship.
Don (86) and Joan (83) Penfold from The Old Rectory, a branch of ACI Care that specialises in residential, respite and dementia care, reminisced about their time together after first meeting when they were teenagers at Christmas in 1952.
Married for more than six decades, the couple share a son and a daughter together and were “thrilled” to have two children. The family has since grown to include two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Don said: “I’d never had a girlfriend before Joan, but when we met we just slotted together. Our relationship has been very happy and very successful, so we can confidently say we’ve had a good marriage.”
Thinking back to the early days, Joan added: “He used to come by my house every night, and in those days we used to sit by the open fire. My mum, step-dad, Don and I would play cards before the television came, but that’s what it was like back then, and we enjoyed it.”