‘We get along like two good mates’: Whanganui couple’s extra-special Valentine’s Day

Richard and June Thomasen celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day. Photo / Bevan Conley

Richard and June Thomasen have been each other’s valentine 70 times over.

On Tuesday, the Whanganui couple, who tied the knot on Valentine’s Day in 1953, celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.

They met at a friend’s 21st birthday party in Taihape, where they had both grown up. Richard was a farmer out to the east, and June grew up on a farm out to the west of the Rangitīkei town.

“He was playing the piano and I was quite fascinated, so I went and sat on the arm of a chair beside him and watched him play,” June said.

“We chatted a little bit, and that was about it. He was a very good piano player.

“A week or so later, I got a phone call asking if I would like to go to the movies - that was a big thing in those days.”

The couple was engaged soon after on June’s 19th birthday, and got married just months later on February 14, 1953.

“We’ve got through [life] very well, and we consider ourselves very fortunate that we are still here looking after one another,” June said.

“Respect is very important, and sincerity - those are the important things, we think. Understanding one another.

“You’ve got to reason with one another, talk things over.”

Richard said: “We just get along like two good mates and take life as it comes.”

The couple, who have three sons, will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary with a family afternoon tea.

“With the boys and their father, there’ll be a whiskey or two going down as well,” June said.

“We’re just going to have a quiet family day.”

She said Valentine’s Day had gained more prominence over the years - but for Richard and June, it means just one thing.

“It’s important to us because that’s the day we got married,” she said.

“We never forget it, do we?”