Soulmates: John Thomas and Loretta Thomas got married in 1958.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
If you’re looking for inspiration on how to make a marriage last, look no further than John and Loretta Thomas, who will be celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary on Good Friday.
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Mr and Mrs Thomas, originally from Rushworth and Tatura respectively, have been through it all together — from playing football to running a general store to travelling around Australia in a caravan.
Mr Thomas went to Tatura to play football.
“We went together for about a month before we were married,” Mr Thomas said.
“But I met other people there in Tatura too.”
Luckily, Mrs Thomas was the one he had his eye on.
“She was always a girl in Tatura I wanted to take out because she was so beautiful,” he said.
Picture perfect: John Thomas and Loretta Thomas with their wedding photo.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
And Mrs Thomas was equally smitten.
“He was nice because he had blond hair. And he was a good footballer, so he was the whole package,” she said with a laugh.
But it wasn’t just physical attraction that kept them together — it was a shared sense of purpose and a willingness to work hard.
“We always worked together,” Mrs Thomas said.
“Then we saved enough to put a deposit on a general store. We were there for 10 years, I was in the post office.”
Mr Thomas agreed that their joint efforts were what helped them succeed.
“Don’t go into debt too much,” he said.
“And talk to each other, communication is a big thing.”
Of course, not everything was easy.
“There’ll be some times you don’t agree and have disputes over some things, but eventually you get over them,” Mrs Thomas said.
“You’ve got to struggle through everything. And that’s all you can do. You can’t just split at the drop of a hat and walk away; we couldn’t walk away then with three kids.
“Where do you go?”
“Just work through it,” Mr Thomas said.
“We had three kids to look after, you just have to keep going. Nowadays they just split up.”
Lost in each other’s eyes: The couple at home in Shepparton.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Through all the ups and downs, they have remained committed to each other and their family.
Mr and Mrs Thomas travelled around Australia in a caravan for 11 years after retiring and saw some beautiful places, but had not sold their house and returned home to visit family whenever they wanted to.
So, there you have it: the secret to a long and happy marriage, according to the couple, is a combination of love, hard work and commitment.
Oh, and don’t spend too much on motor vehicles, Mr Thomas said.
