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Taking the Good with the Bad - Key to a Happy Union

on Monday, January 16, 2017

Taking the good with the bad and a commitment to staying in love is the secret to a successful marriage, according to Mercy Place Mont Clare residents Katherine and James McMahon, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary recently and were thrilled to receive letters from the Queen, the Prime Minister and a host of WA politicians.

The couple, who are both in their 90s, hail from very different parts of the world - James was born in Mount Gambier in South Australia on 22 January 1924, and Katherine entered the world in Calcutta during the time of the British Raj, on 4 October 1920, after which her family moved to a farm in Western Australia in 1928.

After getting married on 28 December 1946 at St Mary’s Cathedral - where they first met - the couple ran a dairy farm in Nannup for close to 15 years, after which they changed to fine wool production. At the same time Katherine worked as matron at Nannup district hospital for close to two decades.

The couple, who live together at Mercy Place Mont Clare, celebrated their milestone with a party for friends and family, as well as Mercy Health staff.

“We courted for many years before getting married as we were only able to see each other when I was on leave from the services,” Mr McMahon says.

“We have been very fortunate in our lives, and were blessed to have six happy and healthy children, three boys and three girls,” adds Mrs McMahon.  “Today we have 11 grandchildren and six great grandchildren who we are also very proud of.”

Mercy Place Mont Clare Service Manager, Janelle McFarlane, said the entire Mercy Health team were keen to congratulate the couple on their special milestone anniversary.

“Everyone at Mercy Health was keen to wish James and Katherine all the very best on their momentous anniversary,” Ms McFarlane says. “It is a tribute to both of them to have built such a solid foundation for a long-lasting and happy life together.

“Reaching such a milestone anniversary is a wonderful achievement and it is genuinely very special to see them still truly happy when they’re with each other.”

Click here to find out more about Mercy Health's aged care services.

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