An Ely couple who will celebrate 60 years of marriage on Thursday say “give and take” and “thinking of your partner” are the keys to a long, happy relationship.
Ron and Gloria Moore, now aged 85 and 78, married at Saffron Walden Church, and moved to Ely in 1966.
“I was a child bride, and I had to borrow a wedding dress because we didn’t have much money then,” says Gloria.
Unlike their friends who honeymooned in Hawaii, the pair enjoyed three days in Camberwell. “We didn’t have a lot to start with but we’ve worked our way up and we can’t grumble”, says Gloria, adding that they’ve holidayed in Europe and the Canary Islands.
She first met Ron because he was a friend of her brother. “I just saw so much of him I suppose,” Gloria says. “My brother said ‘it would never work’ but here we are 60 years down the line.”
When they first got together they would dance together and go to the cinema, remembers Ron, who would go on to spend 26 years as operations manager at Barclays in Ely.
Ron and Gloria have two children: Julie and John, and three grandchildren: David, Harriet and Faye.
“Family keeps you together,” says Ron, “and we’re really lucky that everyone’s so close.”
“We love it here,” says Gloria, who used to be a member of the Young Wives group in Ely and was a member of a local art club.
“I love the cathedral and the river, and the people are very friendly,” she says, having worked at Mayfairs - a women’s clothes shop.
Since retiring, Ron has gone on to do a lot of voluntary work. He is the treasurer of Fen Probe Talking Newspaper, and the local branch of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and. Ron has also been the secretary of the Ely & District Bowls League for 30 years.
The pair was surprised when they’re upcoming anniversary was acknowledged by Michael Ball on the radio, as well as on Steve Wright’s Radio 2 Love Songs show. Michael Ball also played two of the couple’s favourite songs including Frank Sinatra’s ‘Always’.
“My daughter Julie organised that - it was a real surprise.”
Ron and Gloria Moore will mark their diamond anniversary with a meal at The Old Fire Engine House with close family.
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