Taking the good with the bad and a commitment to staying in love are the keys to a successful marriage, according to Mercy Place Mont Clare (Claremont) residents Katherine and James McMahon, who recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
Mr And Mrs McMahon, who are both aged in their nineties, were thrilled to receive letters from the Queen, the Prime Minister and a host of Western Australian politicians on the occasion.
The couple hail from very different parts of the world: Mr McMahon was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia in 1924, and Mrs McMahon entered the world in Calcutta during the time of the British Raj in 1920, with her family moving to Western Australia eight years later.
After getting married on 28 December, 1946 at St Mary’s Cathedral – where they first met – the couple ran a dairy farm in Nannup for close to 15 years, after which they moved into fine wool production.
At the same time Mrs McMahon worked as matron at Nannup District Hospital for close to two decades.
The couple, who live together at Mercy Place Mont Clare, celebrated their milestone with a party for friends and family, as well as Mercy Health staff.
“We courted for many years before getting married as we were only able to see each other when I was on leave from the services,” Mr McMahon said.
Family had been a great source of joy for both of them, Mrs McMahon added.
“We have been very fortunate in our lives, and were blessed to have six happy and healthy children: three boys and three girls,” she said.
“Today we have 11 grandchildren and six great grandchildren who we are also very proud of.”
Mercy Place Mont Clare Service Manager Janelle McFarlane said the entire Mercy Health team were keen to congratulate the couple on their special milestone anniversary.
“Everyone at Mercy Health was keen to wish James and Katherine all the very best on their momentous anniversary,” she said.
“It is a tribute to both of them to have built such a solid foundation for a long-lasting and happy life together.
“Reaching such a milestone anniversary is a wonderful achievement and it is genuinely very special to see them still truly happy when they’re with each other.”
Mercy Health is a Catholic community not-for-profit provider of care, founded by the Sisters of Mercy and grounded in a 2000 year history of caring for those in need.
The organisation is a national service provider of health and aged care throughout Victoria, Southern New South Wales, WA, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
In WA, the organisation cares for over 300 people across six residential homes, with 78 independent living units.