Devoted Couples Celebrate Love on Valentine’s Day

Not-for-profit aged care home Mercy Place Mandurah will have romance in the air on Valentine’s Day, as the organisation helps two couples who are residents celebrate their love and loyalty over what amounts to almost 140 years of combined marriage.

Seniors Kingsley and Lenore Bremner, who are both born and bred West Australians, alongside Mark and Eva Levis, will celebrate Valentine’s Day side-by-side, as they have done for more than six and seven decades respectively.

After courting for five years, Lenore, who grew up in Subiaco, and Kingsley, who hails from Benalla in Victoria, were married on 21 January 1956 at the Methodist Church on Derby Street in Subiaco, during what Kingsley recalls was a 14-day heatwave.

They went on to have four children – one boy and three girls, two of which are twins - and now have six grandchildren and two great grandsons, with the youngest being just ten months old.

“We courted for several years before getting married as we met whilst I was in the army,” Mr Bremner says.

“We have been very fortunate in our lives and were blessed to have four happy and healthy children,” adds Mrs Bremner.  “Today we are very proud of our children, grandchildren and great, grandchildren. We are extremely lucky to have such a wonderful family.”

Similarly, fellow Mercy Place Mandurah couple Mark Levis and his wife Eva have been together ever since their eyes met across a dance floor in 1950.

The couple, who were both born in the Goldfields, celebrated 70 years of marriage last year and readily admit that their happy union has centred on always communicating well and making sure they give and take.

“I’ve always been deeply in love with Eva and have had a feeling that I was actually put in this world to protect and look after her,” says Mr Levis.  “We’ve shared everything and have always talked things through, and whilst we’ve certainly had disagreements during our marriage, we’ve always believed in discussing our problems and have always trusted each other.”

Mercy Place Mandurah Service Manager, Simone Baxter, says both couples epitomise what Valentine’s Day is all about - having true commitment and respect for each other, as well as love.

“Both Kingsley and Lenore and Mark and Eva remain devoted to each other after many decades of marriage and it is wonderful to see,” she says.

“We will be making Valentine’s Day extra special this year, as we celebrate both couples and their continuing love for each other, as well as ensuring all of our residents can take a trip down memory lane to reminisce about the true loves in their own lives.”

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