A couple with 17 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild on the way are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary tomorrow.
June and Alan Seston, who now live in Martlesham, met aged 16 and 18 and married after dating for just four months.
The pair – who are now 86 and 88 – met in 1950 when June was working at a chemist in Cowley, Middlesex, and was sent out on an errand.
While out, she was spotted by two boys on bicycles who whistled at her – one of them turned out to be Alan who later turned up at the chemist to buy items for his mother and asked her out.
They went out to the funfair and have been together ever since, moving to Stonham Aspal from Middlesex in 1971.
“We have a very good marriage,” June said. “We never row – I think if I was angry with him I’d just stop talking to him and do house chores to work off my grief.
“He is a very funny guy, he still makes me laugh every day, telling the same old jokes.”
The couple had six children, three boys; Tony, Chris and Glen, and three girls; Sharon, Shirley and Gaynor.
They now have an extensive family with four generations of relatives and a fifth on the way.
June says having the big family is lovely and that Alan has always wanted a great-great-grandchild, although she added: “It is very expensive, I just don’t do Christmas any more.
“I try to get everyone’s birthday and I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten one.”
Alan, who was diagnosed with Alzhiemer’s around 2015, built up a successful family company called X-Spurt Tyres in Ipswich when they moved and it is still trading today.
Both of the couple were into team sports in their younger years, with Alan playing football and June on the netball court with a team of mums who all came together so their kids could be cared for while they played.
The duo haven’t seen much of their extended family throughout lockdown except for socially distanced visits, but were ecstatic to celebrate their milestone anniversary with a meal at a local pub on Monday, August 31.
They held big parties on their 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries and will be receiving a card from Buckingham Palace tomorrow to mark the occasion.
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