By Jodie Symonds
IT WAS winter of 1954 at a dance in Warburton, where Launching Place lovers Bill and Mary Cook crossed paths and, before they knew it, they had created their own love story.
The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Thursday 4 August.
Mary caught the eye of Bill, and at the end of the night he asked her if he could take her home.
“I wasn’t after anything I just wanted a bit of a dance, but I said alright,” Mary said.
Bill also invited about four other people to join them, and a miscommunication of directions led him to roll the car at the end of Mary’s road.
“We all got out because he had rolled it – and then he asked me if I still wanted a lift and there was no chance of that,” Mary said.
Bill’s charm worked – two years later the couple exchanged vows at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Warburton in 1956.
“I did think he was a rather nice chap,” Mary said.
They spent their honeymoon in Warrnambool and 12 months later they brought a baby girl named Jenny into the world.
Mary and Bill had four more children, Sue, Kerry, Vicki and Julie, and moved to Morwell.
In 1970, the couple moved back to the Yarra Valley and settled in Launching Place, with plans to be closer to Mary’s parents.
Bill said the secret to a happy marriage is respecting each other.
“I like her sense of humour and she’s very caring – she also has a great strength of character,” Bill said.
Mary said Bill has a wicked sense of humour but can be stubborn.
“Speak for yourself,” she said.
The couple exercise every day using their home gym equipment, and said keeping fit is the key to living a long and healthy life.
“We’re always active, we go to the movies and we’re always having outings,” Mary said.
“I mean if you sit at home and don’t do anything it’s just not good for you,” she said.
In 1999 devastation shocked the Cook family, when cancer took the life of their grandson Richard, at age seven.
“It really was the biggest blow,” Mary said.
“Richie was two when he was diagnosed then passed five years later.”
The couple agreed overcoming adversity had made them appreciate the happy times in life.
Mary and Bill are grandparents to 11 and great-grandparents to four.
