Coast couple proves diamonds are forever
Thu 24 May 2007
Renae Dyer, Jouranlism
They had the first triple wedding of its kind in Australia, and 60 years on they’re still going strong.
Kawana residents Ron and Alma Blake recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with friends and family at the Caloundra Bowls Club. And if reaching their diamond anniversary wasn’t celebration enough, it was also Alma’s 79th birthday.
“It was so beautiful, we couldn’t have asked for a better day,” Alma said.
“We didn’t ask for any presents we just wanted all our friends and family to come along but people bought us wonderful gifts anyway.”
The couple sh
ared their wedding day with Alma’s older sisters Ruby and Elsie Stehm, 60 years ago in their home town, Heywood Victoria.
“We were all engaged at the same time and decided the most practical thing in terms of saving money and time was to have a triple wedding,” Alma said.
The marriage ceremony of the Stehm sisters was reported in the Herald Sun in Melbourne as the first triple wedding of sisters in Australia.
“My sister Ruby received a letter of congratulation from the Queen of England,” Alma said.
Unfortunately Ron, 81, and Alma are the only surviving couple of the unique nuptial.
Ruby’s husband Ted Sibley died just six weeks ago and Elsie’s husband Arg Miller died 12 years ago.
“While it was great that we had reached a milestone, we couldn’t help but think of dear Ruby and what she must have been feeling,” Alma said.
Alma said she felt blessed to have not only found her soul mate but to have lived a long, full life with her husband. While the couple admits it is far from perfect, Alma said they're grateful to stand the test of time.
“We hardly ever fight and there’s nothing we haven’t been able to work through,” she said.
And Ron said it was their compatibility that has seen them last the distance.
“We like all the same things, which I think is very important in any relationship,” Ron said
“It’s been very happy years and we’re very lucky to have found each other.”
Ron and Alma met through mutual friends when they discovered they shared many common interests.
They both enjoyed nothing more than a game a tennis or football and using their creative talents to paint. Alma can still remember cheering for Ron when he played AFL in Heywood.
Today, the couple still have all the same interests and spend their days of retirement on the Coast watching AFL, painting, and listening to music.
Before they moved to the Coast 42 years ago, Ron was a cheese maker by trade and Alma was a telephonist in Victoria. Now they can’t imagine life anywhere else in the world.
“We loved Victoria but it was too cold and the Coast is so much more relaxed,” Ron said.
After two children, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren, Ron and Alma are still as happy today as they were 60 years ago.
“It has felt like it’s gone so quickly,” Alma said.
“We’re very lucky we have each other and we’ve lived a wonderful life together.”
Image(s) designed by Renae Dyer