Features

'Love is the ingredient that holds us together'

ian allen
Doris and Lester Laird celebrating 33 years of marriage.

By FRANCINE BLACK, Staff Reporter

LOVE IS THE ingredient that Doris and Lester Laird say has held their marriage together for more than three decades. The two were married on February 20, 1971 at the St. Matthew Church in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth. However, their long lasting relationship started several years before in 1942 in Braes River, St. Elizabeth where the two met.

"I went to her house one day and I saw her and liked her," Mr. Laird told THE WEEKEND STAR. He said they started dating and soon decided that they wanted to get married. "We got together as friends and planned to get married," Mr. Laird said. However, the couple could not afford the costs associated with a wedding ceremony at that time. But their intentions to do so never died and 29 years after meeting, they finally tied the knot in a ceremony attended by mostly close relatives and friends.

Retired

Mrs. Laird, who is a retired domestic worker, and her husband, who is a retired farmer, have always been close and always helped each other. Mrs. Laird said that when her husband would attend to his farm she would often help him to plant crops. The couple also had a desire to have children and so they had five, three girls and two boys. The couple noted that in their 33 years of marriage they have hardly spent time apart.

Mr. Laird said that even if he goes to visit his children, who are now grown, in other parishes, he would only stay for a short time. The two said they firmly believed marriage is an honourable institution and that influenced their decision to get married. "When you (get) married and the two of you moving good, people respect you. When you depart from this world people have a lot to say about you," Mr. Laird said. He also noted that if his wife should pass on before him, he would not remarry as he loves his wife too much.

Mrs. Laird, who is 82-year-old, and her husband, who is 86, are now retired. They spend time together by talking and going to church regularly. Mr. Laird explained that his wife has always taken care of him and told THE WEEKEND STAR the main principle for a relationship. "Live good and that's the foundation of the relationship," he said.