Letting down his confident, self-assured guard 83-year-old George admits to his nervousness on his wedding day on March 13, 1948.
“I was worried she wouldn’t turn up; women tend to be late, especially Betty”, he says.
George, an ex-Navy man left for World War II and the signing of the peace treaty at Tokyo Harbour only vaguely knowing of Betty, but he says before leaving he had “eyed her up”.
“When I came back things moved a bit differently, we both had the same principles on life and that guided us right through,” he says.
Betty and George were born in the same year, although George chuckles that Betty is older by eight months. Betty’s health declined five years ago and since then it has been difficult for the couple to communicate.
“She can hear everything you say, but she just can’t respond,” says George, as Betty seems happy in her own private nostalgia.
Even after 60 plus years together the raw love and affection can be felt. Betty lives in the hospital section of the nursing home and George has his own room in the residential end, but that doesn’t stop him from coming to visit his “beautiful Betty”.
“He’s a good husband. Everyday he spends hours sitting and talking to his wife”, says manager of Lansdowne Chris Hall.
She says George is doing pretty good for his age, and makes sure to give the nurses his fair share of cheek.
George’s lunch arrives mid-interview and he gulps it down still keeping up his storytelling, before inspecting the caramel pudding on the tray and putting it aside.
“You don’t know what they put in it these days, it doesn’t compare to Betty’s cooking”, he says.
He says it wasn’t until Betty fell ill that he realised just how good he had it.
“I can’t cook, I can’t even sew a button on, and it was terribly difficult. When you can’t cook you’re in real trouble.”
The family moved to Pakuranga in 1968 and Betty was immediately popular and headed the friendship club for more than 20 years.
Betty ran the household, which included three children, while George worked in the insurance industry following a stint in the navy.
When it came to disagreements, George says it was a matter of waiting for the other party to agree, and the couple’s only serious argument was over changing churches.
“We went from a Baptist church to Methodist. It took us a year to finally decide but it worked out for the best in the end,” he says.
The pair share a love of drama and were well known in the South Canterbury Drama League, travelling for performances.
George says Betty is and will always be “his leading lady”.
