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Burnley couple celebrate 60 years of marriage
Eileen and Dennis Slater who are celebarting thier diamond wedding anniversary.
A SPARKLING Burnley couple are still on song after 60 years together.
Music lovers Dennis and Eileen Slater, of Waterbarn Street, enjoyed a diamond wedding anniversary celebration when Dennis (81) serenaded his sweetheart with their favourite song “How Wonderful It Is” (to know you love me).
He said the words to the classic 1961 hit by Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson still hold true today.
Former decorator Dennis said: “Eileen is exactly the same as when I first met her.
“She is a very sincere and compassionate person. We have had some lovely times together.”
Eileen (83) added: “We get on so well. We have shared a lot of laughs over the years.”
The couple met on a holiday to the Isle of Man in 1948, and hit it off as friends.
But after the week-long holiday, they went their separate ways.
Dennis said: “I really missed her. I wrote her a romantic letter but I got one back saying ‘Dennis, you’re a very nice boy, but that’s all’.”
Then Dennis sent her a Christmas card that year and sparked a romance that would last a lifetime.
They wrote to each to each other every week – signing off each letter with the words to a romantic love song of the day.
And they travelled between Nottingham and Burnley by bus to spend time with each other at weekends.
The wedding day came on May 17th, 1952, when the couple were married in a church in Eileen’s home city.
Within a week, Dennis had to fly out to Hong Kong where he spent 18 months doing National Service away from his bride.
The couple moved to Burnley in 1964, along with their son Paul, who is now 52.
Eileen, a former textiles worker, said the secret to a happy marriage was “to give and take and be patient with each other”.
Dennis added: “One of my friends said Eileen must have made an impression on me – and that impression was a very sweet girl. She treats everyone the same, without pride, or prejudice.”
The couple marked the milestone with a party with friends at the KSC Club in Nelson
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Friday 24 May 2013
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