Diamond couple hit the right note
Staff reporter
An East Kilbride couple are so in tune with each other that their marriage is still going strong after 60 years.
Bill and Laura Gracie’s marriage has had a musical influence right from the start.
In the early days, as well as having a day job, Bill was a saxophonist playing with a big band in Dennistoun Palais, then Hamilton Palais in the evenings, while Laura was a keen dancer, at both the Dennistoun Palais and the Barrowland Ballroom.
In later years, Bill had his own business in East Kilbride, Sound Unit, selling musical instruments and sound equipment to music retailers.
He continued to play in the evenings but this time he played the piano with the Gill Gracie Trio, with long residencies in the town’s Bruce Hotel and Bellahouston Hotel in Glasgow.
And their marriage is proving to be the perfect duet as the pair have now celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary, with Provost Ian McAllan and Deputy Lieutenant for Lanarkshire Helen Russell on hand to help mark the very special occasion.
The couple first met when they both worked at Stephen Mitchell’s tobacco factory in Glasgow in the 1950s. Bill was from Carntyne, in the East End of Glasgow, while Laura was from the Gorbals.
They got engaged in 1956 and married on July 3, 1957, at Oatlands St Bernard’s Church, in the Gorbals.
Their first home was a flat in Brandon Street in Hamilton – a room and kitchen with the luxury of an inside toilet.
Their eldest daughter Carol was born in 1958, followed by Isobel in November 1961.
In 1965, Bill got a job with East Kilbride Development Corporation and the family moved to a three-bedroom house in Milford, Westwood.
Two years later their youngest daughter, Joan, was born.
Bill and Laura had various jobs throughout their marriage until they both retired.
After working for East Kilbride Development Corporation, Bill worked for CJ Lang, who are distributors for Spar Grocery Shops, before running Sound Unit.
Among the places Laura worked in East Kilbride were Ladbrokes, Charlie Roots – the greengrocers in the Village – and the laundry room at Hairmyres Hospital.
They became grandparents in 1981 when Isobel’s daughter Cheryl was born, followed by Laura in 1984 and Carol’s daughter, Jillian, in 1987. Joan’s son, Connor, was born in 1992 and daughter, Robyn, in 1994.
They were thrilled to become greatgrandparents in 2006 with the arrival of Cheryl’s son, Ashton, followed by his sister, Lara, born on Bill and Laura’s 55th wedding anniversary on July 3, 2012.
Bill still has a keen interest in music and Laura is a keen bowler. Their whole family still live in East Kilbride.