Worth more than a diamond

By Melissa Donchi
KEN and Maisie Hay are celebrating their 60th anniversary but one thing is missing.
“I’m still waiting for my diamond ring,” Maisie jokes.
But what’s a diamond when you have four children, 11 grandchildren and eight great-great grandchildren?
“We’ve done pretty well over the years, I can’t complain,” she says.
Ken and Maisie tied the knot at St Mary’s church in Seymour in 1947 and moved to Healesville about 1950.
Ken worked as a boot repairer but got a job at the Grand Hotel in Healesville when his business closed up.
He spent 10 years at the Grand, 12 years at the Olinda in Lilydale and another 10 at the Terminus Hotel in Healesville.
Maisie worked as a housemaid and waitress at the Grand for more than 30 years. They both retired at 70 years of age.
Now at 81 and 82 years of age they are taking a well deserved break.
Their eldest daughter, Sherrill, says they’ve crammed a lot into their 60 years together.
“They’ve worked hard, raised four children and gone overseas to America, Singapore and Malaysia,” she said.
Both cannot believe how quickly the time has past.
“It’s gone quickly, the 60 years,” Maisie says.
“I still can’t believe it.”