Pat and Peter Elllis have celebrated 60 years of marriage. Photo / David Haxton
Peter and Pat Ellis have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
The Paraparaumu couple marked the diamond wedding milestone with family and friends at a gathering at the Fishermans Table restaurant in Paekākāriki yesterday.
The couple first met at a friend’s 21st birthday in their childhood town of Putāraru.
“We were engaged within a fortnight,” Pat recalls.
A year later they were married in a Methodist church in Ōtāhuhu.
The couple moved to Huntly and lived in an NZ Rail house, as Peter had a clerical job with the company, before buying a home in Manurewa.
Peter continued working with the company and Pat worked as a telephone operator for the Post Office.
When Peter was transferred to the head office in Wellington, they settled in Paraparaumu and have lived in their Elder Grove house for more than 40 years.
Peter continued to work for NZ Rail until he took early retirement and redundancy, and Pat worked for the Post Bank and ANZ for more than 30 years.
They had three children, Janine (who passed away about 12 years ago), Steven and Gavin, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, with a sixth on the way.
Pat said she was attracted to Peter’s zest for life and the fact he was “such a nice guy”.
She remembered attending a rugby function in the early days and hearing some rude jokes.
“Peter took me outside because he didn’t think it was for my ears. That’s the sort of guy he was. We sort of clicked. It has been very happy ever since.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, as most people do, but I don’t know what I’d do without him now. I’m a little bit fragile now and he’s so fit. He helps me a lot.”
Peter said they were “opposites to some extent”.
“I’m sports mad and on the go but Pat never really was, until she met me, and then got involved with coming to rugby with me, supporting me with rugby referring, and a lot with my running.
“She is more passionate about rugby than me now.
“It has been quite a good match.”
