Still strong after 70 years

OWN CORRESPONDENT

The Franks are still young at heart and Ray, at 90, still works as a legal bookkeeper at a local law firm.

Jack (now 93) flew Spitfires during the war and kept his love for Ray alive by writing letters to her. After returning to South Africa after the war, with no job, he didn’t even propose and just took it for granted they would get married – which they did! Ray is still surprised that their families allowed it…

“We used to fight like hell and then get over it,” she said. Jack just smiles and says tongue-in-cheek: “I wanted to kill her and then couldn’t wait for her to come home from work.”

Ray says the last 70 years were great. They moved to Klerksdorp a couple of years after they got married and they’ve been living there ever since. Their two daughters now live in Johannesburg and want their parents to move to the city, but the couple wouldn’t have any of it.

They have two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. “My one daughter is a granny and retired and I still work,” laughs Ray.

They are still both very active in the Jewish community. As a matter of fact, they have been active their whole life – Jack used to be a golfer and Ray had provincial colours for tennis and hockey.

Both agree that the highlights in the 70 years of their marriage have been the birth of their first grandchild and the birth of a boy as a great-grandchild.