A SPARKLING Droitwich couple have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.
Mary Smart, who was born in London and moved to Leeds, and Tony Stead from Leeds met at the Melbourne Hotel which has since been demolished.
Tony, 81, was playing snooker and Mary, also 81, was there with a friend.
Mary said: “It was love at first sight – a real whirlwind romance.”
The couple became Mr and Mrs Stead when they were married at the Presbyterian Church in Leeds on Saturday, March 6, 1965. After a day in Chester, Tony, who was in the army, headed out to Cyprus.
Mary joined him afterwards and they lived in Limassol.
When they came back, Tony was in the Territorial Army and worked at General Universal Stores. The couple went from Leeds to Norfolk and it was when he went for promotion, his workplace moved to Oldbury and the couple moved to Droitwich.
Tony later worked at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
Mary trained at the North of England Secretarial College and then had a successful career as a secretary.
Family life
The couple had two sons, one sadly passed away in America, and the other one who lives in Kent. They also have four grandchildren – two girls and two boys.
In their free time, green-fingered Tony loves gardening and keeps the pair’s plot looking lovely with an abundance of flowers.
Mary ran the Droitwich Guides, was on the executive committee of the WI and attends Witton Chapel.
Mary also has an interesting family tree – her uncle was the Bishop of Reading in the 1970s and, on her mum’s side, was the Chief Surveyor of Scotland who oversaw the renovation of Edinburgh Castle.
Following a fall last year, Mary has been bed-bound so the diamond anniversary celebration did not go as originally planned.
The carers came round with cake for the couple and they received a 60th wedding anniversary card from King Charles and Queen Camilla.
On the secret of a long and happy marriage, Tony said: “If anything goes wrong, the best thing to do is to forget about it and move on.”
Mary added: “I agree with him – it obviously works as we’re still here and going strong after 60 years together.”
