Val and Bob's love of tennis brings them together
IT WAS their love of tennis that brought Toowoomba couple Bob and Val Ford together five decades ago.
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IT WAS their love of tennis that brought Toowoomba couple Bob and Val Ford together five decades ago.
Mrs Ford had been playing tennis since the age of nine and Mr Ford's interest in the sport grew from family visits to friends country courts on Sundays for tennis matches and he and his young friends hitting the ball over the net during their parents breaks.
So when the two started playing at a Toowoomba court when they were both 18, they became hitting partners.
It wasn't long until they started dating and five years later on November 5, 1966, they were married in the St James Church.
Soon after the two built a house in Burke St, and have lived there ever since.
Mrs Ford was a fantastic tennis player and played for Australia in 1962 and she also played for Queensland.
When she turned 23-years-old and was married, she gave up playing to become a tennis coach at Fairholme College and Concordia Lutheran College.
Her husband, who had moved to the city from McLaggan when he was 13, worked at a hardware company that is now Mitre 10 for 13 years.
He then moved out to the university, where he worked for 35 years and retired when he was 65.
Mr and Mrs Ford had two children - Lisa was born in 1970 and Chris was born in 1971.
When Lisa was born, Mrs Ford gave up her tennis coaching career to raise their children.
The couple both loved working out in their garden, so after some encouragement from some well-known local gardeners, they entered The Chronicle Garden Competition.
That was in the 1990s and they haven't missed a year since and have been named grand-champions several times over the years.
"It's good exercise for us to get out in the garden, to keep the body moving and it's nice when people come and see it or have questions for us,” Mr Ford said.
"It's a big compliment to the house too.”
Mr and Mrs Ford have done some travelling in their time as well - they've been to Europe, England, the west coast of America and they have been visiting Melbourne for the Australian Open every years since 1995.
As the couple are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, Mr Ford shared what he thought was the secret to a happy marriage: "Don't go to bed with an unsolved problem”.
"It's no good arguing about everything. The problems aren't going to go away.”
He said having similar interests was a great way to stay connected, but said you've got to have some time alone too.
"You can't be in each others pockets all the time.”
Mr and Mrs Ford will celebrate their anniversary with a dinner with their friends and family.
Originally published as Val and Bob's love of tennis brings them together