August 24th 1960 – 59 Years
January 29th 1969 – 50 Years
July 18th 1967 – 52 Years
April 24th 1969 – 50 Years
April 26th 1969 – 50 Years
Some of the oldest marriages in Anguilla, dating back to nearly 59 years ago, were celebrated at the Mount Fortune Seventh-day Adventist Church on Saturday, April 27.
The couples were each escorted to the pulpit area by a number of children who were drawn from their own families, and who are being taught the values of family life and unity.
The couples, in order of appearance, were:
• James Ruan and Easlyn Ruan of The White Hill. He met her at the waterfront in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, while she was returning home from church. She never heard about Anguilla then but, following their marriage on August 24, 1960, she eventually joined him in living in Anguilla. She taught Economics for years in St. Thomas. They have five children and several grandchildren.
Mr. Ruan, a builder, was in charge of building Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist Church and School in St. Thomas. He has also built a number of other buildings there and in Anguilla. He is a Deacon and a Sabbath School Teacher at the Mount Fortune SDA Church.
• Aubrey and Dorcilla Smith of Island Harbour. They first met at Island Harbour Bay where he had a haul of jacks and wanted a salesperson. She volunteered and to this day she sells the family catch in The Valley near the food strip. They were married on January 29, 1969, and became the parents of three sons and one daughter. Aubrey has served as a Deacon of the church. He is a taxi-driver and owner of Sky King Radio at Island Harbour – a communication system for fishermen and other mariners. Mrs. Smith is a Deaconess; one of Anguilla’s finest seamstresses and a farmer.
• Clive Clifton Smith and Gwendolyn Viola Smith of The White Hill. They first met as students at the then East End Primary School; and their love relationship developed over the years. They were married on July 18, 1967. Gwendolyn has served as a Choir Member; Sabbath School Superintendent; Treasurer and Deaconess – while Clive has held all positions of the Mount Fortune SDA Church from First Elder to Janitor. He was the Pioneering Director of the Pathfinder Club there, and one of the first invested Master Guides in Anguilla.
• Synrick (Boyston) Webster and Eronie (Iona) Webster of Island Harbour. Boyston migrated to St. Thomas where he served as a builder. He soon returned to Anguilla to pursue his marriage to his bride to be – whom he had admired before leaving his homeland. They were married on April 24, 1969. Back in St. Thomas, he returned home again – that time to join his wife as a Seventh-day Adventist. She has served as an Elder; Deaconess; Vacation Bible School Teacher; Sabbath School Teacher; Family Life Director; and Prayer Warrior. They parented five children and also have a number of grandchildren.
Boyston, as he is popularly known, is a Deacon at the Mount Fortune Church, which he built, and is a general builder in Anguilla.
• Wilkin and Rita-Smith of Island Harbour. They were married on April 26, 1969; parented seven children; have twenty grandchildren and five great grandchildren. He has served at the Mount Fortune SDA Church as Deacon; Assistant Treasurer; Investment Leader; Elder; and First Elder. He held some of these positions while in California for a number of years. His wife, a retired Anguillian Nurse in California and Anguilla, served at the Mount Fortune SDA Church as Health and Temperance Leader; Assistant Sabbath School Teacher; and Community Services Director.
The narrations for the celebration of the marriage anniversaries were performed by Mrs. Maria Webster, a Pathfinder Leader and Master Guide at the Mount Fortune SDA Church, and the wife of Algernon Webster, Head Deacon.
