A resident at Millway House in Andover has just celebrated 70 years of marriage to his childhood sweetheart.
Graham Guppy (91) and his wife Val (92) met when they lived opposite each other as children and married in Cardiff in 1953. Marking their milestone anniversary at the nurse-led care home this week, the happy couple have been enjoying tea and cake, and a weekend get-together with family and friends.
The husband and wife, who journeyed to Guernsey for their honeymoon in the early 50s on a small eight-seater plane, continued to satisfy their joint love for travel by visiting numerous countries across the world during their marriage – the Caribbean, America, and Canada, to name just a few. They have three children, five grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way, and said their secret to a happy marriage was to always “work as a team”.
Millway House Home Manager, Claire Lousteau, said it was heart-warming to be part of the couple’s anniversary celebrations. She said: “70 years is just remarkable, and it’s been wonderful to see Graham and Val celebrating with everyone here. A huge thank you to Millway’s excellent activities team, for organising everything.
“Graham joined us at Millway in May, and it’s lovely hearing about his and Val’s life together.”
Millway House is part of Sears Healthcare and CEO Richard Adams is pleased to hear that the care home arranged such a special celebration for the long-time married couple.
He said: “I’m delighted to hear about Graham and Val’s 70th anniversary celebrations. At Millway House, we are a nurse-led care home, so our approach focuses on providing a home-from-home for our residents while we meet their healthcare needs. It’s great that staff have arranged such a special few days for the couple. Congratulations to them both!”
When Graham and Val marked their 50th wedding anniversary in 2003, they were thrilled to receive a card from Her Majesty the Queen. Now, 20 years on, they have had a very similar card through the post, but this time from King Charles III.
Situated on the outskirts of Weyhill near Andover, Millway House offers excellent accommodation for nursing, dementia and end of life care.
For more information, visit www.millwayhouse.co.uk.
