Shining examples of love’s longevity
Their advice to young married couples is to believe in each other and to never go to bed without solving your problems.
With the month of love coming to an end, the Advertiser took some time out to chat to Witfield Retirement Village residents Lena and Francois Labuschagne, whose love have stood the test of time.
Having been married for 62 years, these two love birds are shining examples of love’s longevity as they have seen each other through some ups and downs.
They were introduced to each other by Lena’s father, Michael Kleynhans, who worked with Francois.
At the time, Lena was 16 and Francois was 18.
“The moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew that she was my wife. I can’t describe how I felt, but the feeling was just so strong,” Francois said.
Lena said she had always told her mother that she wanted to marry someone who had black hair, blue eyes and who doesn’t smoke.
“When I saw my husband he matched all the descriptions. What attracted me to him was that he was caring and I loved him too bits,” Lena said.
They got married on December 13, 1958, after they dated for two years.
They were blessed with six children – five boys and a girl, who’s the eldest.
Before moving to the Witfield Retirement Village in 2015, they lived in Germiston.
Francois was a qualified chief building inspector and a plumber.
Lena, who quit her job to look after her children, didn’t just become a housewife, she used to bake and decorate cakes.
Over the years, Lena has made about 1 000 wedding cakes for her clients and conducted cake decorating lessons.
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