COUPLE’S SECRET TO A STRONG MARRIAGE...
Gordon and Jean just take ‘each day as it comes’
LIKE all good romances, it started with a dance … and for Gordon and Jean Cowan, that love of the ballroom has never faded, more than seven decades on.
The devoted Rutherglen couple celebrate an incredible 70 years of marriage this year.
Surrounded by friends and neighbours, they enjoyed a special high tea at David Walker Gardens care home recently, and shared stories of love, laughter – and fancy footwork….
Jean said: “The secret to a strong marriage is about taking each day as it comes. That applies more now than it’s ever done.
“We have lived a long and full life together and I have absolutely no regrets. It was lovely to be able to mark our anniversary in style.”
Gordon and Jean, born in 1922 and 1926 respectively, got married in Rutherglen in March 1951, and enjoyed a happy honeymoon in Ayr.
Jean was a former ‘clippie’ on the trams, leading the way as one of the first working women to wear trousers.
Keen travellers, the couple regularly visited Europe, with a favourite destination being the Italian Lakes.
They have also travelled the length and breadth of North America by bus and train, having sailed over on the Queen Mary.
But their love of Scotland was paramount and they kept a holiday home in Rothesay.
Gordon and Jean settled in Rutherglen, on the South Side of Glasgow, in later life and moved into David Walker Gardens last year, the home’s sole resident married couple.
A love of ballroom brought the couple together, and after a two-year courtship around Glasgow’s famous dance halls, like the Dennistoun Palais de Danse, Gordon finally popped the question and Jean said yes.
Staff at the care home say Gordon often shares fond memories of dancing with his wife, and that music and dance continues to give the couple great joy and a tremendous psychological boost.
“Bringing all of that together with the celebration of Gordon and Jean’s amazing life and partnership, was one of the most memorable events we have seen here,” said senior care worker Megan Watt. “We all feel so privileged to have been part of it.”
Gordon says the recipe for married life comes from patience and companionship, and he says they are happy to have ‘come full circle’ in returning to the place where he grew up.
“I never would have imagined as a boy, when I grew up just round the road that I would still be here in this wonderful place – the old Gallowflats school in my day – celebrating with the love of my life,” he says.
“We are very thankful.” a
Are you celebrating a milestone anniversary this year? We’d love to hear your stories of love and romance through the decades here at Times Past – get in touch to share your stories and photos.