"He came around and we got engaged that night," Mrs Fawcett smiles.
One of the things the couple remember about the night they got engaged was how hard it was to find a restaurant to have dinner.
"All there was in New Plymouth in those days was fish and chip shops," Mr Fawcett says. But luckily they found a place to have a celebratory dinner.
The Fawcetts, who were born six weeks apart, were both 25 when they married on a cold winter's day on July 5, 1958, in an Ōpunake church.
Shortly after their wedding, the couple moved north to Tuakau, where Mr Fawcett worked for BNZ bank and Mrs Fawcett worked in the office of a chicken factory.
In May of 1959, the couple had the opportunity to move to Fiji so they left New Zealand for 3-1/2 years.
"It was the day the Auckland Harbour Bridge opened, the pilot flew us over it," Mr Fawcett says.
"We absolutely loved it," Mrs Fawcett says speaking about their time in Fiji.
In 1961 the couple had their first child, with their second arriving a few years later, and returned to New Zealand in 1962 where they moved to Kaitāia.
Because of Mr Fawcett's job at the bank, the family moved around the country and lived in many North Island towns including Raetihi, Te Kuiti, Kawerau and Coromandel Town before moving to Tauranga in 1989.
"We have picked up many good friends along the way," Mrs Fawcett says.
"When we retired in 1989, we had over 200 people on our Christmas card list," Mr Fawcett laughs.
The couple says they enjoy living in Tauranga and often have family come to visit.
They have two children, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
"We've had a wonderful life," Mrs Fawcett says.
She believes the reason they have stayed married for so many years is because of their base of Christianity.
"We believe in the same things and that has tied us together," she says.
"Anything we did we always did it together," Mr Fawcett says.
