Friends and family help Lisburn couple celebrate ruby anniversary

The event at Deanes at Queen’s was organised by Mr Keers to mark their 40th wedding anniversary.

They were married on July 16 1983 at the church Hilary attended, Sydenham Methodist Church in east Belfast.

Sunday’s gathering saw Dennis’ best man Ian and Hilary’s bridesmaid Catherine attend with their partners, as well as relatives, including Dennis’ younger brother Jim travel with his fiancée Esther from the Netherlands to be there to share the special day.

Dennis welcomed everyone to the commemorative dinner and thanked those in attendance for taking the time to celebrate with them, including many people who had been part of their big day 40 years ago.

He also made special mention of Hilary’s dad John, who was unable to attend due to illness, as well as their third grandchild, Jude, who was born last month and was being looked after by his maternal grandparents.

Hilary and Dennis started married life in the Collinward area of Glengormley and welcomed the birth of their first son, Russell, in 1987.

They moved to Huntingdale in Ballyclare in 1989 and went on to have another son, Philip, in 1994.

Hilary and Dennis spent over 30 years living in Ballyclare, playing an active role in the congregation of Ballyclare Presbyterian Church.

Following the birth of Russell’s first child, Maeve, in 2019, the happy grandparents moved to the Belsize Road area of Lisburn in January 2020 to be closer to Russell and his family.

Their second granddaughter Anna arrived in 2021 and Hilary and Dennis are now familiar with the many play parks across the Lisburn and Castlereagh area.

Congratulating their parents on reaching the special milestone, Russell and Philip said: “We’re so happy for mum and dad as they mark their 40th anniversary. They always put everyone else first, so it was nice to see a bit of a fuss being made for them.

"They enjoyed seeing people they hadn’t seen for a number of years and this meant a lot to them. We hope they can share many more happy years of married life together.

"Thanks to everyone who attended and the team at Deanes for helping to make it a lovely day.”