Features

Hooked at hello

By David Dunkley, Staff Reporter

Linnette and William Shirley... still happy after all these years. - Ian Allen

GROWING UP IN the same district, William Shirley and Linnette Blackwood saw each other for years but never once said hello. Yet, a mere three years after exchanging their first words, they exchanged wedding vows and have never looked back.

"We grew up together in Spring Gardens, a short distance distance away (from each other) and we always saw each other but never exchanged words," William recalled, adding that it was not until he opened up a shoemaker shop and saw Linnette passing one day that he summoned up the courage to call to her. "We became good friends and soon we started going together for three years," he said.

Relationship blossomed

Like a flower, the relationship grew and blossomed and William eventually proposed. Linnette eagerly accepted and they said their "I dos" on September 25, 1960, at the Warsop Baptist Church in Trelawny.

"We're fond of each other," Linnette said. "He was kind to me and we found out that we could live together so we got married. We do everything together, we're true to each other and his support to us as a family was quite outstanding with the help of the Lord."

Apart from having a relationship most couples would envy, the two are the proud parents of six daughters and three sons. Three of the girls and one of the boys are married.

Sylvia Sterling, one of their daughters, told THE WEEKEND STAR she had no doubt whatsoever that her parents would have been married for a long, long time. "From childhood days, I've never seen them have a quarrel and they live loving, very, very loving," she stressed.

Sterling, 34, has been married for the past 12 years. She says she hopes to follow the example her parents have set, and have a marriage as lasting and wonderful as theirs.

Fair share of disagreements

The Shirleys admit that they do have their fair share of disagreements but they try to use the word of the Lord to guide them. We never let the sun go down on our wrath," William explained. "Anything that goes wrong we talk it out in an amicable way and try to deal with it ourselves.

"When she was younger Linnette used to be a dressmaker and crocheted. William was employed as a store clerk before heading to Mandeville where he opened a tailoring establishment which he said began slowly but gradually picked up. The two are longstanding members of the Spring Gardens Baptist Church. They are both deacons at the church where Mrs. Shirley is also an organist. The couple's advice to newlyweds is to always make God a part of their relationship. "You have to consult the Lord and ask him what you need to do. He would direct you in whatever way you should go. You also need to study his word and understand exactly what to do," William asserted.

"Whatever happens go to him," Linnette added. "The couple who has his instructions can't go wrong. Whenever you have differences consult the Lord and talk it over."