INNISFAIL – Roland and Tessa Robidoux understand what it takes to make a marriage work. And the couple, recently marking their 60th wedding anniversary, has never missed a celebration of their love on Valentine's Day.
INNISFAIL – Roland and Tessa Robidoux understand what it takes to make a marriage work.
And the couple, recently marking their 60th wedding anniversary, has never missed a celebration of their love on Valentine's Day.
"I thought he was handsome. He had jet black hair," said Tessa Robidoux, who was born and raised in Liverpool, England and moved to Canada at the age of 24 in 1955.
Tessa met her future husband later that year. Robidoux was 21 at the time and on leave from the Canadian Army, where he served as a rifleman in the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, when he met his future wife in Toronto.
"She was a good-looking chick I tell ya, and she's still good-looking. For 85 I think she's beautiful," said Roland who will soon turn 82.
They married in 1956 and have shared six full decades of marriage. Both know what it takes to make a marriage work and make it last.
"You have to growl at each other sometimes," said Roland with a chuckle.
"You have to have patience," added Tessa. "That's the first thing, and also you have to learn to let a lot of things go in one ear and out the other."
Their sense of humour and love of laughter is unarguably a key ingredient to their strong friendship and marriage. The couple also complements each other in several ways and share many similarities.
One of those similarities is their love of dance.
"We dance all the time. We're the first ones in and the last ones to leave," said Tessa.
Roland was born and raised in Cornwall, Ont. and moved to Toronto where he joined the Canadian Army. He worked overseas as a peacekeeper in Germany for 18 months after they were married, and served a total of six and a half years in the military.
They had five children and today have 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Over the years the two have shared many memories together, including fun memories on Valentine's Day.
"We've enjoyed the Valentine's party and a big dance and a dinner at the legion here. We've never missed a year," said Tessa, noting they now attend the Valentine's dinner theatre at the legion.
Like most marriages, they've shared their good times but also their struggles over the years.
"There are days this (marriage) isn't perfect," said Tessa. "You have to give and take and you have to have a little bit of respect for each other."
"A sense of humour helps too," added Roland. "We've had lots of ups and downs. You just got to stick it out and take the good with the bad."
Roland Robidoux
"We've had lots of ups and downs. You just got to stick it out and take the good with the bad."
