Durban - Samuel Thomas was searching for a life partner who was humble and hard-working. He saw these qualities in Gloria, now his wife of 50 years.
Thomas, 75, and Gloria, 65, met in May 1972.
He lived in Unit 2 Bayview in Chatsworth. His aunt, who knew Gloria, introduced them. At the time, Gloria lived in nearby Unit 3 Westcliff.
“When I saw Gloria, I was immediately attracted to her beautiful brown eyes. I then began visiting her home. She lived with her grandmother after her parents had died.
"Gloria and I used to go to the movies. That same month I proposed and on July 22, 1972, we got married. We had a Christian wedding at the Ebenezer Temple Church in Chatsworth. I was 25 and she was 15. My favourite colour is blue, so I wore a blue suit and Gloria wore a white bridal sari."
He said about 250 guests attended the wedding.
Thomas, who worked as a librarian at the University of KwaZulu-Natal for 37 years, and Gloria settled in Autumn Place in Unit 3. They had three children - David, 49, Allan, 46, and Jolene Chetty (47). The couple hava five grandchildren.
“We celebrated our 50th anniversary with family and friends at Christ Outreach Ministries in Chatsworth. Our celebration was blessed by Pastor Andy Moodley,” said Thomas.
Gloria said she was attracted to the way Thomas presented and carried himself.
“He was a decent young man. He did not have bad habits like smoking and drinking. Samuel was a church-goer. Being young back then, I knew my future would be secured if I married him. I knew we would have a stable life together because he was a man with values and he would be able to take care of me since I had no parents.”
Thomas said trust and being faithful were what kept them together.
“Trust and faithfulness are the basic foundations of marriage. We have experienced some financial difficulties over the years but we decided to budget and not live beyond our means. Now, we are in a much better state.”
Gloria said: "No matter what situation we went through, we resolved it and showed our children a better path to follow."
She said life became tough when Thomas battled an illness.
“For the past two years, my husband has been sick. Fortunately, it did not reach the stage of him being bedridden. Last year, we thought we would lose him but through the grace of God, he recovered."
Thomas said he was thankful to Gloria for being supportive and being there for him when he needed her the most.
"She carried the load and made all things possible."
His advice to couples looking to have a long-lasting marriage: "Trust your partner and be faithful because these are mostly the contributing factors of broken marriages. Couples must not give up easily. They must not throw in the towel when they are faced with challenges.”
Gloria’s advice for a successful marriage: “It is important to have God in your marriage and both partners need to put in the effort for the union to work.”
Thomas enjoys reading about eschatology - the part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind. Gloria enjoys cooking.