Junction Hill couple Ron and Beth Wykes celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Saturday with their family, at an outdoor luncheon at the family farm.
Due to the flare up of COVID-19 in Sydney, some family members were unable to travel to attend the celebration.
Beth (Barnier), was born and raised in Grafton and Ron was born in Armidale and raised in Grafton.
Ron’s parents, Cecil and Stella Wykes, moved from Armidale to Grafton, to run a tyre business in Prince Street, Grafton. They bought the business in 1928 and it became C.I. Wykes Tyre Service and later changed to C.I. Wykes & Son, when Ron was old enough to work in the business.
The business re-treaded tyres and involved travelling out to farms to repair punctures. The business also served petrol and it kept them busy, servicing customers six days a week.
Beth and Ron first met when Beth went to work for Cecil Wykes, as a receptionist in the front shop.
The couple were married on 4th August 1950 at Christ Church Cathedral, Grafton.
They have spent all their married life in Grafton raising their three daughters Rhonda, Helen and Jan and being involved in the local community helping out at the Cathedral, Sailing Club and Show Society.
The couple continued working with Beth retiring around 1980 and Ron finally retiring around 1997.
Beth and Ron are still residing in their family home at Junction Hill, enjoying their garden and relaxing.
When asked what their secret to a happy marriage was, the couple said that they attribute their 70-years of marriage to ‘patience and respect’ for each other.
“Marriage isn’t smooth sailing,” they said.
“There’s lots of ups and downs, but everyone is entitled to an opinion and you have to respect that and move on and ‘agree to disagree’,” they said.
Ron and Beth’s family and friends wish to congratulate them on such a wonderful achievement, and we all wish them a happy 70th wedding anniversary.