Greenough couple mark 60 years of love, family and supporting each other through the good and bad

Good communication and supporting each other through the tough times are the keys to a successful marriage, according to a Greenough couple who recently marked 60 years of wedded bliss.

Valerie and Lindsay Royce recently celebrated their diamond anniversary at their Greenough property, Corringle.

The couple met playing tennis after Mrs Royce moved to Geraldton to work as a home economics teacher in her early 20s.

Mrs Royce said it was not until the young farmer visited her in hospital after a scooter accident on her way to work that she realised Mr Royce was fond of her.

“He was a handsome young fellow and good at tennis,” she said.

“We had similar interests.

“I was quite keen to learn about farming and I certainly did.”

Mrs Royce said she “didn’t know wheat from oats” when she got married aged 25, but she quickly learned how to help her husband on their Greenough Flats farm.

“I remember when we had shearers, that was always a busy time because I had to feed them morning tea and lunch and afternoon tea,” she said.

“Often I would be back over at the shed at night to help Lindsay to press the wool from the sheep.”

The Royces had three sons and a daughter and enjoyed many family adventures in beach buggies, tennis competitions and crayfishing.

“We would put the pots down, then we would go early in the morning and pull them up and get our share of crayfish ... there were no limitations back then,” Mrs Royce said.

After their son Andrew took over the running of the farm, the Royces had time to explore Australia, Europe, Indonesia and other exotic places overseas.

Mr Royce is now in a nursing home, with his wife and children organising trips to the farm and beach whenever they can.

“He loves going back out there and seeing things ... he likes to keep up with things going on,” Mrs Royce said. In six decades, Mrs Royce said she and her husband had rarely argued.

“Lindsay is a very placid person and I don’t think I have ever seen him in a temper,” she said.

Mrs Royce said there was no secret to a happy marriage, but good communication and resilience would help couples get through life’s challenges.

“You just have to get on with life and get through all the hard times,” she said.

“You have to be able to talk to each other and don’t hide things.”