YANCHEP couple Janet (79, nee Goodwin) and Rod (82) Dedman will celebrate their 60th anniversary on March 30.
They met at a dance in Gloucester, England, in February 1957 when Rod was stationed at Barnwood RAF base.
Mr Dedman was demobbed that April, returning to London, and their long-distance friendship blossomed into love.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWThey married at St Barnabas Church, Gloucester, on March 30, 1959, and spent their honeymoon in North Devon.
The Dedmans lived in New Malden, Surrey, until 1968, raising their children Raine, Caroline and Nicholas.
Mr Dedman completed a geology degree while working in the family grocery business.
A job with the Geological Survey in Perth made them move to Australia, which involved a seven-week journey stopping at Panama, Trinidad, Tahiti and Curacao.
They travelled with work from Perth to Queensland and back to WA and have lived in Australind, Hamersley, Duncraig, Mindarie and Yanchep.
In 1992 they started square and round dancing, which they said was a wonderful way to meet people and stay fit.
In their Mindarie home they practised high-level square dancing with friends and taught challenge-level dancing not available in Perth.
They represented WA in experimental round dancing five times and still attend square dances.
Mrs Dedman volunteered with Red Cross for 30 years and she attends Prime Movers, exercising to music.
Mr Dedman plays golf and has traced the family tree back 12 generations.
They have four grandchildren and love to travel, having spent holidays in NSW, England, America, Africa and Bali.
The couple said luck, persistence, compromise, laughter and love were key to a long marriage.