After 60 years of marriage, this Shepparton couple returned to where they were wed

“It was more ‘interest’ at first sight,” she said with a cheeky laugh.

“I thought he was pretty spunky, actually.”

As for Kevin: "I liked her right away,” he said.

On October 1, Beverley, 80, and Kevin, 85, celebrated their diamond anniversary by returning to where they were married 60 years ago.

Sitting in Friars Café — formerly Shepparton Baptist Church — it's clear the spark between this couple hasn't faded a bit since the day they tied the knot.

“He's still the same person I met all those years ago,” Beverley said.

“We've both just gotten a little bit greyer.”

Both born and bred in Shepparton, Kevin was competing in a table tennis tournament at Deakin Reserve the day he and Beverley met in 1956.

Beverley had gone along with her friend — Kevin's cousin — to watch.

“I was working with her as a telephonist at the Shepparton Telephone Exchange,” Beverley said.

“Kevin and I were introduced and we started chatting. From there, we just started going out.”

The subsequent courtship was filled with trips to the pictures and fishing outings.

They were on one such trip when Kevin popped the question — sort of.

“I made him marry me,” Beverley said with a laugh.

“He was talking about how one day when we were married we'd do this and that, and I said, ‘Well, you haven't asked me to marry you'.

“And he said, ‘Well, will you?'”

Of course, Beverley agreed right away, and on October 1, 1960, the couple was married at Shepparton Baptist Church.

For 35 years they worked side by side, running a dairy farm at Kialla Central.

“It was one farmer and his wife,” Beverley said.

“I helped with milking the cows and carting hay — everything.”

“I would have been lost without Bev,” Kevin added.

They also raised their three children — Geoff, now 59, Lindy, 57, and Julie, 55.

Of course, six decades of marriage didn't come without some heartache.

“Our son Geoff was disabled, so we eventually had to make the tough decision to place him in care,” Beverley said.

“We also went through a couple floods on the farm — just the usual hardships of life and farming.”

Retiring in 1994, they've since enjoyed the golden years of retirement, travelling overseas and around Australia together.

They are also doting grandparents to five beloved grandchildren.

After all these years, Beverley said Kevin had never stopped being a faithful companion.

Meanwhile Kevin said Beverley was still the most thoughtful person he had ever met.

“Whenever there's a birthday or funeral, she spends so much time picking out the perfect card and writing a thoughtful message,” he said.

So, what's the secret to 60 years of wedded bliss?

“You've got to have a bit of give and take, plus a good sense of humour,” Kevin said.

Beverley added: "It's all about perseverance and love.

“Never give up on each other.”