Diamond duo are still in step
ADIAMOND couple are looking back on more than six decades of happy memories together as they celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.
Geoff and Carol Whitehead, of Bramley Road, Norden, have lived in Rochdale all their lives and tied the knot on June 25, 1960, at St Paul’s Church in Norden.
Now aged 80 and 79 respectively, they met as teenagers at a Saturday night dance at Rochdale Town Hall in 1955.
They went on to have three children together, Kath, Richard and Duncan, and are also grandparents to eight grandchildren.
Duncan, 50, said his parents were ‘very proud’ to have reached their milestone anniversary.
He added: “Many things change in life, people come and people go, but the one constant we have in our lives has been our mum and dad, together as a unit.
“They have always been there to give honest and practical advice, always reliable and above all else, always kind and generous with their time and money!
“We, their children, could not have achieved the success nor become the people we are and have raised eight children without their help, support and love.”
Duncan said the attraction between his parents when they first met, then aged 17 and 16, was ‘instant.’
At the time, Geoff was a pupil at Rochdale Grammar School for Boys, and Carol had begun work as a trainee hairdresser at the Elizabeth Marsh salon on Manchester Road.
Now both retired, Geoff was assistant director of finance at Bury Council, having started out as a trainee accountant at Rochdale Borough Council after leaving school and climbing the ranks.
Carol continued working as a hairdresser and after a break as the couple started their family, she returned to set up and run her own hair salon in Norden for a number of years.
Since Geoff retired from his council work in 1992, the two have continued to devote their time and energy to St Paul’s in Norden, the church that was the scene of their wedding.
Geoff has sung in the church choir for 66 years and served as its treasurer for 44 years before passing on the reins in 2019.
But he still maintains an active interest in the activities of the church committee.
An avid Manchester City fan, Geoff has used his retirement to make use of his season ticket, which he has had for more than 30 years.
The pair have also used their retirement to travel all over the world, with numerous countries in Europe, Asia and beyond under their belts – including Thailand, where their son Richard lives with his family, and Australia, where they take annual trips of several months to visit their daughter Kath and her family.
Fond of the outdoors, they have also completed the Coast to Coast walk from St Bee’s in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in the North York Moors, enjoyed walking holidays with friends in Austria and Switzerland, and Carol is a member of her local Women’s Walking Group.
According to Duncan, Carol’s secret to a long and happy marriage is to ‘be tolerant of each other’s faults,’ while Geoff says that the key is to ‘have lots of patience.’