Keighley couple celebrate Valentine’s Day after 61 years together

Anchor residents Graham and Dorothy Williams celebrated Valentine’s Day after a remarkable 61 years together. 

Dorothy has lived at Townend Close in Cross Hills, Keighley for two and a half years. The couple  look back on a long happy marriage after tying the knot way back in 1968.

Graham, 77, and Dorothy, 78, first got together in 1964 and were married four years later in the Methodist church just up the road in Bradley - where Graham still lives
They met in Bradley when Dorothy went there to work. Graham was already working in a different mill and the couple met in the village.

They moved into a house together when they got married. Graham says Dorothy was a bonny lass and had lots of lads chasing after her as she was Skipton Gala Queen.

Dorothy remembers Graham as “nice looking but most of all he had a van”. She loved his van and it meant they were able to visit places together.

They have happy memories of going to Wales on a very hot day, eating ice cream and going up Mount Snowdon on the train.

The couple went on to have three children - a daughter and two sons. Dorothy says:

We have cherished every minute spending time with our children, taking them to cricket, football, bowls and youth clubs.

Graham says the secret of being together so long is about a person’s upbringing, having been taught to do the right thing, honouring wedding vows and being patient and tolerant with each other.

For more information about Townend Close, click here.