Diamond anniversary celebration for Inverurie couple
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Today (Thursday) marks a special milestone for Munro Gabriel (85) and Anita Macdonald (81) as they celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary
Both originally from Dingwall in Ross-shire the couple met up in Dingwall itself where Anita remembered watching Munro flying model planes on the school playing fields when they were teenagers.
They were married on June 17, 1961 at the Church of Scotland in Dingwall.
Munro joined the Inverness Savings Bank on leaving school, and apart from a short break to do his National Service, he remained with the Bank, which became the TSB, for over 40 years until his retirement.
During his time with the bank he served in Dingwall, Inverness, Tain, Invergordon and laterly in Inverurie.
While in Inverurie, Munro was an active member of the Inverurie Rotary Club and served as president for a term during the 1980s, and was involved in many community projects and activities.
Anita was an accounts clerkess with the Hydro Board in Dingwall, and then worked in the Telephone Exchange in Tain and when the family moved to Inverurie she worked for Morrisons Chemist and Wills Chemist, before her retirement.
They have three grown up children, Morven, Alison and Glenn who all live nearby, and nine grandchildren, who they dote upon.
The couple have enjoyed many happy years in their static caravan in Findhorn during holidays and weekends.
More recently they have stayed closer to home and enjoy their family, garden and as an avid knitter Anita has knitted hundreds of items for the Neonatal Unit in Aberdeen over the years.
They plan to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary with their children and hope to have a bigger family celebration, in the form of a garden party, later in the summer, once the restrictions have eased further.
Reflecting on their 60 years of marriage they said that "The secret to a long and happy marriage is celebrating the good times, which there have been so many of, weathering the difficult times with a positive attitude and never forgetting that we have been best friends since an early age (14 and 18) and still are today."
