Thornton couple celebrate diamond wedding anniversary

Robert and Valerie Watson, of Burnbank Terrace, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on March 7. The couple were visited on the day by Councillor Daniel Wilson, who presented flowers on behalf of Fife Council.

Robert was born in Hamilton and Valerie was born in Gateside, although she moved to Thornton around the age of five. That original distance didn’t stop the pair eventually meeting. They met when Robert came to visit his uncle and aunt who lived next door to Valerie's parents, Joseph and Mary Haxton.

The pair enjoyed careers. Robert worked as a bricklayer and Valerie went to work in her father’s shop, Haxton's Grocers in Cameron Park, Thornton, when she left school. They were married in Thornton Church on March 7, 1964 but left Fife to live in Blantyre after their marriage.

The pair would soon welcome children. Their first child, Shirley, was born just over a year later in April 1965 and their second child, Ian, was born May 1967.

The family eventually moved back to Fife, moving to Thornton in 1969 settling in Burnbank Terrace in the town. They lived in two other houses in Thornton before moving to Kirkcaldy in early 1990s, then returning to the cottage they still live in to this day. They have four grandchildren and two great-grandsons. Robert eventually retired when he was 72 and still enjoys playing golf.