A game of tennis led to a lifetime’s match for Marty and Jan Hannon of Peakhurst who recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
Mr Hannon met the then Janice Gale in 1952 through night tennis at Fontainebleau Street, Sans Souci.
Coincidentally, today their their second youngest daughter Toni and her husband Dom live in a villa on that same site.
Mr and Mrs Hannon were married on March 24, 1956 at St David’s Church, Arncliffe and spent their honeymoon at the Hydro Majestic at Katoomba.
They worked for five years, Janice as a secretary at Kleratext Carbons and Marty at Pepsi Cola and then Coca Cola.
After some years they went into partnership with from and bought a taxi cab business.
In 1964 they lived at Henry Lawson Drive, Peakhurst. They moved three more times, always staying in the Peakhurst area and are now living back at Henry Lawson Drive in a villa complex.
They have five children, Debbie, Kerrie, Mark, Toni and Tracey.
“They are still very close and near to their old friends, the ones they met throughout the years their five children were growing up and being involved in sports clubs and school in the St George and Sutherland area,” their daughter, Debbie Burke said.
“They always say these were the good years.”
As their children grew up, Jan and Marty both worked for the public service, Jan in administration at Moorefields Girls High School and Marty as a driver for NSW Government Minister Peter Cox and the Premier of NSW Nick Greiner.
After completed a long-awaited European trip in 1990 they came back and worked part-time for a local screen printer.
“It was about this time that they repeated a phase of their life but a generation later,” daughter Debbie said.
“There was babysitting, school drop-offs, sports training, public speaking, concerts, carnival, but it kept them young and very happy.”
Marty, 86, and Jan, 81 are now helping with the upbringing of the next generation.
“Now all our children and grandchildren are adults and without fail have been successful in their chosen careers, we now have our four-year-old great-granddaughter, Anabella, who has kept us going and will continue to keep us going in these twilight years,” they both said.