A massive milestone will be reached for North St Marys couple May and Jerry Townsend when they celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary next Saturday, June 25.
The couple have been together since Mrs Townsend was just 18-years-old and Mr Townsend was 20-years-old after they had a chance meeting at a dancing hot-spot in Katoomba in 1946.
Mr Townsend was in the Navy and was on a break when he had it suggested to him to head to Katoomba where Mrs Townsend happened to be out for the night with a girlfriend.
“He wasn’t much of a dancer,” Mrs Townsend laughed.
“He offered to take me home… he came on the bus with me and then walked with me to my house in Leura.”
Not long after the pair met up again in Sydney and hung out for a while.
They began dating early in 1946 before tying the knot on June 25 that same year.
At the time Mrs Townsend was pregnant with the couple’s first child, with the pair welcoming a total of seven children in their lifetime.
The reason behind having so many children?
“Oh you know, there was no TV in the bedroom,” Mrs Townsend joked.
When it comes down to how the duo have stayed together for so long, Mrs Townsend said it takes patience, and a lot of it.
“It’s a lot of deep breathing,” she laughed.
“Definitely being patient with one another is a big thing and being considerate of each other.”
The couple have battled cancer and death in their family but stuck through the tough times together.
The couple will celebrate their anniversary at a party on July 2, with Mrs Townsend turning 90 the very next day.
