WELL-LIKED Okehampton couple Jeffe and Peggy Cunliffe will celebrate their diamond wedding this weekend, having spent all but one of their sixty married years in the town. Jeffe grew up in Bootle on Merseyside but during the war was stationed in Okehampton as a solider with the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry. The couple met in 1942 and were married in Okehampton Parish Church ? they briefly returned to Jeffe?s native Merseyside but moved back to Devon after 12 months and have lived in Okehampton ever since. Jeffe originally trained as an apprentice plumber but after the couple settled in Okehampton Jeffe became manager of Askey?s Wafer Biscuits with responsibilities for their Launceston, Okehampton and Cullompton depots. He later worked for Devon County Council as a tip operator. Jeffe was a member of Okehampton Town Council for 34 years and served as Mayor in 1976/77. His year in office coincided with a terrible drought and he was instrumental in organising the carrying of water to people unable to collect theirs from standpipes. For his initiative and efficiency, Jeffe was congratulated by the Water Board and the Water Minister Mr Denis Howell. The true highlight of his mayoral year though was an invitation to visit the Cardinal Archbishop?s Palace at Westminster, where he met Cardinal Hume, cabinet ministers and people who had distinguished themselves in public life. In more than three decades as a member of Okehampton Town Council, Jeffe served as chairman for five different committees. Jeffe was also President of the Okehampton Show in 2002. He has given many hours of voluntary service including driving for the hospital car service and helping at a centre for the elderly and disabled. Jeffe said he felt Okehampton was a wonderful place to live. ?There is a great community spirit and we have always been involved in so many different things. If you are prepared to go with the people of Okehampton, success will be yours for certain,? he said. The couple?s big day is this Saturday (September 24) and they are planning to hold an open house for invited guests in the afternoon followed by a family occasion in the evening. The couple have a son, Robert and daughter, Sarah, two grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Peggy Cunliffe (nee Orchard) is the youngest daughter of a well-known Okehampton family and was educated at Okehampton College. She worked at the Health Centre as a receptionist. Jeffe said his long involvement in the public life of Okehampton would ?not have stood any chance? without the full support of his wife, son and daughter.
