THEY met as teenagers as WWII raged around them — nearly seven decades later Norm and Lola Dyason’s love burns just as brightly.
Norm first clapped eyes on Lola in 1942 when she was just 16 years old. He was boarding with Lola’s grandmother in Penrith when she popped in for a cuppa one day. That cup of tea would prove to be the first of many.
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But just as soon as their romance began to blossom, Norm enlisted in the RAAF as a carpenter and shipped off to the Northern Territory for a year. But the distance couldn’t keep their love apart, with the pair writing to each other.
Upon Norm’s return to Sydney they arranged to meet for their “official” date.
In typical fashion, Norm was half an hour late.
“She must have liked me a bit because she was still waiting for me,” Norm said.
The pair were married on June 8, 1946, and bought a house in Gladesville, where they still live to this day. Next month Norm and Lola will celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary — 70 years of marriage.
So what is the secret to their enduring love? Norm says it’s compromise and a cup of tea and avocado on toast in bed every morning.
“When Lola was pregnant, the doctor told me I better make her breakfast in bed and I’ve done just that ever since,” the 96-year-old said.
Norm and Lola have four children, seven grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren.