Happy couple 65 years married

by ROWENA OREJANA
Married 65 years and not once did they argue.

A remarkable couple, Peter and Veronica Evans celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary at a Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland on June 24.
“We had a very blessed life. We have 12 children, 38 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren,” Mr Evans told NZ Catholic.
Mr Evans said their secret, if they had one, was having the Lord in their marriage.
“We have never had an argument. We’ve had differences of opinion but never an argument,” he said. “I put that down to the Lord. He’s the one that is in the marriage the whole time.”
Mr Evans said they are just normal people.
“I think the very first thing is that we were both Catholics and there was never any conflict there at all. We were very happy about having children and they just kept coming along and that was that,” he said.
He said there is no need to argue in a marriage because it’s a two-sided thing.
“If one side doesn’t want to argue, then that’s the end of it,” he said.
He said there were difficulties in their lives. He was district registrar of the commercial affairs division of the Justice Department and had a huge family to support. Mrs Evans took care of the children and their home.
“There were always challenges having a big family. What was quite possibly a major challenge is we grew up at a time when things were not what they are today. It was quite a hard time. It was just the way it is. It was not an unhappy time,” he said.
Peter and Veronica met through a mutual friend when they were in their teens. Their courtship lasted for seven years, something unheard of today.
And after 65 years, they are still deeply in love. “It never stopped, that love,” he said. “She’s a very lovely person. Everything about her is lovely. She is a lovely mother and a lovely wife.”
He often wondered what she saw in him, he said laughingly. “I think it was all our mutual interest,” he said.
Mr Evans said he never had to give their children advice on marriage and love. “They saw how we lived. It was just a case of example, really.”