Celebrating Valentine's Day by sharing a story of true love

As a way of celebrating love on Valentine's Day, Pearl Supported Care resident Evelyn Hare has generously shared her story of friendship and long-lasting love.

Evelyn and Tony first met in Israel, where Evelyn, 22 at the time, was working on a kibbutz. 

Tony was part of a group of five who all met there and became firm friends. 

The romance started straight away with a lot of eye contact and developed as they worked together, Tony picking fruit, mainly cherries and Evelyn working in the club at the kibbutz, cleaning and waitressing. 

Their first ‘formal’ date was a bus trip to a nearby town, about 8 kilometres away, where they had a coffee together. 

All Evelyn could think about on that date was that he was a nice guy, and she was excited to be with him. 

At the end of four months, they had to return home, Evelyn to New Zealand and Tony to Australia, after a month of separation Evelyn came over to Australia, to Beaufort near Ballarat. 

Tony met Evelyn at the airport and drove her back up to the country town where Evelyn applied for a job at a school nearby in Ballarat and the romance continued. 

They married in Beaufort in 1975, their wedding photo shows a young couple beaming with happiness. 

“I was madly in love, and it seemed like the right thing to do,” says Evelyn. “It was an absolutely wonderful marriage.” Evelyn and Tony travelled the world together and raised two daughters. Tony was a “very gentle and calm man, a lovely man.”  

Theirs was definitely a love at first sight and while Tony has passed now Evelyn continues to remember their life together with lots of smiles and joy.

Thank you to Evelyn for sharing her lovely story, and to our volunteers in Darwin for helping her to put the story together.