March 31, Bea and Jack Preston of Quesnel will have been married for 70 years. The couple met at a Halloween dance in Kamloops where Jack was stationed with the Royal Canadian Airforce. They went together for awhile and were married in 1945. Jack was shipped to Vancouver where they lived until 1949 when they came to the Quesnel area. Jack was born in Scotland and Bea was born in Quesnel. They celebrated their anniversary with family March 21 as their oldest son Bob (Lorraine) in Kersley celebrated their 50th anniversary on March 20. Other family members include son Don of Sooke, daughter Colleen (Russel) of Prince Rupert, sons David (Nancy) of Quesnel, and Ken (Michelle) of Bouchie Lake, 10 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. The youngest great grandchild, Ryker. Bea and Jack came to Quesnel in 1949, then bought a farm on Hold Road, Kersley, in 1951. They have lived in their home at the top of Dragon Lake hill since 1967. Bea recalls when they were able to make a number of trips throughout the province. She volunteered with various organizations but notably the Canadian Cancer Society for 41 years. When Bea was first approached to take it on, the job was only supposed to be for a year but she finally turned in her key in 2009. She also headed up Cubs in the Scouting program in 1950. Jack volunteered with the Kangaroos Hockey team for 33 years and Quesnel Millionaires for 25 years. He was employed by School District 28 for 22 years. One of the highlights Bea recalls some time ago was when a couple of Japanese women visited them in their home for a couple of days. For years Bea regularly corresponded with her friend whose husband worked at Cariboo Pulp. Her friend from Shiroai spoke Japanese but her daughter accompanied her as an interpreter. Both Jack and Bea have health issues – Jack had open heart surgery a little over a year ago and Bea is battling cancer. She will be 90 on May 24 and laughs when she tells of trying to teach Jack how to cook. He will be 94 on Sept. 25.

Quesnel Cariboo Observer