Janice and Barry Bruce celebrate 60 years of marriage.
Barry and Janice Bruce are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on January 29, 67 years after they first met on the school bus to Corowa in 1958.
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Both born in the area (Janice in Corowa and Barry in Yarrawonga), they enjoy the quiet life and love nothing more than spending time with their children and grandchildren.
“I lived at Daysdale and Barry lived at Coreen,” Janice said.
“We both caught the same school bus into Corowa, and that was the start of it.
“We left school in 1960 and didn’t see one another for two years.”
“In those days we didn’t have a phone,” Barry said.
“And I didn’t have a license, so keeping up communication was difficult.
“We met again after a football game in Wahgunyah in 1962 and started again from there.”
Most of their early years together were spent catching up on weekends at sporting events.
Barry played football for Coreen and Janice’s dad coached at Daysdale, so Janice would often man the canteen, serving hot dogs, pies, sandwiches and cakes.
They both love tennis and played for different clubs in the beginning, before Janice decided to play for Coreen.
“Coreen was short of players,” Janice said.
“So, he asked me to go there to play tennis with him and that’s where I stayed.”
Janice and Barry on their wedding day in 1966.
Barry and Janice married on January 29, 1966, before 100 people at the Corowa Presbyterian Church, with the reception at the Corowa RSL Club hall.
One of their fondest memories together is of a trip they took to the Birdsville races in Queensland, where they just loved the laid-back attitude of the people.
They both appreciate the simple things in life, doing everything together over the years, and have always worked together to solve any challenges that came up.
They have two children, Darryl and Lisa, and five grandchildren - Ryan, Becky, Josh, Ella and Bree.
There are currently no great-grandchildren, but they are hopeful, with Becky and her fiancé getting married on the family farm next year.
They’re much more involved with the kids now, trading their spare time for following their grandkids around watching them play sport.
“That’s what you do when you get old,” Janice said.
Not for lavish occasions, they plan to celebrate quietly with family over lunch on the weekend.
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