Sparkling celebrations for a diamond couple
A Hamilton couple celebrated 60 years of married life together last week.
Douglas and Sheila Graham marked their diamond anniversary on Thursday, April 14, surrounded by family and loved ones at a party.
The pair say simply loving each other and getting on has been the key to a long and happy life together.
Douglas and Sheila got married in Glasgow in 1962 and lived there for seven years before moving to Hamilton.
They lived in Avonbrae Crescent but have resided at their current home in Marshall Grove for 50 years, with their two cats Nigel and Fred.
Douglas was an English lecturer at Hamilton College and still works part-time marking English scripts at his computer.
Sheila worked as a staff nurse at Monklands Hospital and remains close friends with many of her former colleagues.
Together the pair have six children: Roddy, 59; David, 58; Lucy, 57; Nancy, 54; Louisa, 52; and Nicky, 50.
And they have nine beautiful grandchildren: Christie, Louis, Matthew, Harriet, Brodie, Imogen, Cosmo, Sorley and Rosie.
Douglas and Sheila remain fairly active and go ‘down the town’ in Hamilton for a coffee and a scone and a read of the paper.
Sheila loves shopping, knitting and going to book groups at Motherwell library.
Edinburgh-born Douglas loves supporting Hibs, and singing, performing with the Hamilton Caledonian Bowling Club Male Voice Choir.
The pair share many similar interests including lots of reading and catching up on popular TV shows. During lockdown, the couple binged all of Breaking Bad together for the second time.
When asked the secret to a long and happy marriage, Sheila told us: “Just loving each other, getting on with each other. We both love books and reading a lot.
“I’ve always always loved Douglas and he always says he loves me. He gave me a dozen red roses when Roddy was born!
“We loved having all six children. We love reading books, we love the same TV programmes, and we love going out for meals.”
To celebrate the milestone, Douglas, 84, and Sheila, 83, went out for lunch together at Twenty One Restaurant in Hamilton.
And on Saturday, they were joined by friends and family for a special anniversary party at Hamilton Bowling Club.
The couple enjoyed a dance together to celebrate their anniversary with loved ones on Saturday.