Norrie and Nessie Cook were presented with a royal message of congratulations from Her Majesty The Queen by Deputy Lord Lieutenant Alasdair Houston as their family members looked on.
The couple met through a mutual friend and Nessie explained they ‘drifted along for a wee while’ before Norrie undertook his National Service on the front line in Malaya.
Upon his return Norrie proposed to Nessie and they were married in an upstairs room at the Co-Operative Imperial Restaurant by Mr Cockburn from Dumfries.
Children soon followed, they were blessed with a daughter named Carol and then a son named Alan.
At the time of their engagement Nessie was working on the buses as a conductress and was joined by Norrie when he returned from war.
But his farming roots called to him and he returned to the land, working on his uncle’s poultry farm at Dunscore.
In their early married years they lived in Lincluden and then later settled on the Annan Road in Dumfries.
They have three grandchildren and are patiently waiting for the arrival of their first great-granddaughter.
When asked what their secret to a long marriage is, Nessie said: “A wee bit give and take goes a long way.”
