Neil and Marge Garden celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on 3 November.
Inyoni Creek retirement village stalwarts Neil and Marge Garden, whose journey with the village started when the first brick was laid, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on 3 November with family and friends.
During the couple’s 15 happy years at Inyoni Creek, they have both contributed to the success of the village and been hands-on in various endeavours.
Neil was an active member of the Inyoni Creek Village Committee for a number of years and, in 2010, was appointed a Trustee of the RA Welfare Development Trust and Director of Rand Aid Association Management Board. He is still a Trustee and attends Rand Aid Association’s Board Management meetings.
He has also studied the retirement village industry for 15 years and monitors competitor activity closely.
As an active member of Inyoni Creek’s Naked Chefs team from 2009 to 2020, Neil helped to provide lunch to between 140 and 180 residents from Elphin Lodge, Tarentaal and Inyoni Creek retirement villages on the last Friday of each month at the Inyoni Creek Clubhouse. Marge was also a key member of the team, on door duty checking lunch receipts. Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic brought this activity to an abrupt end in February 2020.
Marge was also on Inyoni Creek’s Village Functions Committee for a number of years.
The couple is also founding members of the Inyoni Creek Village Probus Club and Neil has presented talks at many Probus Clubs in Gauteng.
Neil, a pensioner for 25 years, retired as a general manager of First National Bank after 42 years of service. During his career, he saw service in London twice.
The family lived in Putney, London, from 1979 to 1981, before moving to Pietermaritzburg where they lived until 1983. Marge and Neil have three daughters, six grandchildren and a great-grandson.
“We have been able to travel extensively around the world, with a highlight being our trip to the Antarctic in 2008,” says Marge.
