Our People
14 March, 2025
Ken and Helene celebrate 70 years married
Ken and Helene Greenberger were the guests of honour at a small gathering at Eventide Homes in Stawell on Wednesday, March.
Ken and Helene Greenberger were the guests of honour at a small gathering at Eventide Homes in Stawell on Wednesday, March.
The couple were joined by family and community members to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
The couple met as young adults at a dance at the Stawell Town Hall.
Four years later they married at St Matthews Presbyterian Church on the 12th of March 1955.
At the time of their marriage, Ken had been living in Melbourne for two years as the owner of a grocery store.
After the wedding, the couple lived in Melbourne for six more years before moving back to Stawell with their young family.
At the small gathering, Helene spoke about her childhood.
She was born in Beaufort and lived at both Glenorchy and Stawell as a young child.
Her father worked as a railway signalman.
She spoke of how she started school at the age of four, walking from the railway station each day.
She moved through each school grade alongside peers that were two years older than her.
She left school at 14 and wanted to go into nursing, but needed to wait until she was 17.
Instead she got a job working at Australian Estates in Stawell’s Main Street.
The couple mentioned a highlight of their 70 years was an international vacation they won in a jingle competition.
For a few months, their kids were split between family members in Stawell as they set sail, first to Singapore, then through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean.
Then from sea to rail, they spent some time travelling through Europe together.
In 2025 the couple were asked what was the secret to their long lasting relationship.
Ken joked ‘my good nature’ and that Helene just ‘couldn’t stay mad at me.’
But Helene put it down to tolerance and respect for one another.
“We’re all not the same … you’ve got your own point of view and I’ve got to respect that,” she said.
The relationship is still going strong 70 years later, now with three children, eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
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