Love is in the air: Stan and Jean Cameron after 60 years of marriage.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
Kisses for Jean: Stan pecks Jean on the cheek.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
Tying the knot: On Stan and Jean’s wedding day
Photo by
Steve Huntley
Jean and Stan’s grandkids: Danielle, Bec, Stephanie, Jamie, Dillon and Codey.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
Jean Cameron reveals the secret to creating a successful, loving marriage, really boils down to having the will to listen to your partner and your ability to make compromises with one another.
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“It’s all give and take,” Jean said about her marriage of 60 years to Stan Cameron.
The pair have been a part of the Moama community since August 2018.
They met in 1961 while Jean was living in the Richmond YWCA and Stan was working at a local milk bar.
“I was from the country. My husband and his parents and his two younger brothers moved over from South Australia and opened the milk bar down the end of the road and that’s how I knew him,” Jean said.
She said she first really noticed Stan and was introduced to him properly when she was at the local swimming pool.
“He used to go the local swimming pool and take his younger brother, who at the time was about eight,” she said.
“A few of my friends and I had called in at the pool after work one day.
“I met Stan there and after that, we sort of just gravitated towards one another.”
From that moment on, the pair was smitten with each other.
They married 18 months later in Daylston, South Gippsland on June 16, 1962.
Jean who was 18 and Stan who was 20 at the time of marriage, decided to have a wedding that was on the smaller side.
Jean’s brother and wife were the only other people in the wedding party.
Jean worked as a receptionist while Stan joined the fire brigade about two months after they tied the knot.
Stan, who adored his work as a firefighter, stayed with the CFA until 1990 and even progressed to the position of station officer.
Station officer Steve: Steve worked as a firefighter.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
They also ran a pet shop in West Heidelberg for a few years, while Stan was still in the fire brigade.
The loved-up couple never managed to head away for a honeymoon, but well and truly made up for it with all of the travels they eventually did together.
Jean has many pleasant memories of her adventures with Stan.
“Over the years, we've been to England, Ireland and Scotland three times,” she said.
“We’ve done all of Australia in a four-wheel drive, we’ve totally circumnavigated it and gone all right through the centre of Australia as well.”
In 2006, Stan suffered a stroke that has resulted in Jean becoming his primary carer.
This forced the couple to re-adjust the way they were travelling.
“Since he had the stroke, that’s when we started doing tours, because it became too difficult,” Jean said.
“We’ve been to New Zealand, on both islands, we’ve done Norfolk Island and we did Tasmania as a tour as well.
“We’ve also been on both the Ghan and the Indian Pacific trains.”
The pair has no future trips planned.
Jean said it had become a little more difficult to plan trips nowadays, not only with the travel restrictions during the pandemic, but also with Stan’s condition.
“Now, it’s just not really viable,” Jean said.
“Until the pandemic, we’d fly to Perth once every two years to see the granddaughter and her tribe over there and on the alternate year, we would go to Townsville to see family or Port Macquarie because I’ve got a sister up there.”
The Camerons take pride in admitting they now have two sons, six grandkids and nine great-grandkids who are spread out around the country.
“Our eldest son and second granddaughter live in Townsville, our eldest granddaughter lives in Perth, and we've got one son and grandson who live in Moama.”
Their eldest grandchild will soon turn 36 and the youngest will be 25 in June.
The eldest great-grandchild turned 14 a week or so ago and the youngest will soon be turning two.
As to their anniversary plans, Stan turned 80 a month ago and unfortunately was in hospital at the time, so as a result, they have decided to do a combined 60th anniversary and birthday lunch at Moama Bowling Club.
“We figured that we’d just have lunch with a couple members of the family to combine the two events,” June said.
In terms of how Jean and Stan like to spend their spare time, Jean said when they were not running around to medical appointments they liked to spend their time socialising in the community.
“We’re members of probus, we’re members of the local stroke group and we did join the armchair exercise group up in Martin St, which the last couple of years hasn’t been running too much because of COVID.”
Stan also has a passion for gardening, which is what led him to creating an abundant vegetable garden at their humble home in Moama.
Stan and Jean look forward to celebrating and sharing their anniversary with their family.
