Brenda and Don Wilkins will be celebrating 60 years of matrimony on Oct. 16 at a family celebration in Seattle.

Both Brenda and Don Wilkins are from London. After World War II, a mutual friend introduced them to each other and they were married one year later on Oct. 16, 1954; they immigrated to Canada the same day.

After living in Toronto for several years, the couple relocated to San Francisco and later to Palo Alto, Calif., in the mid-1960s where Don opened a hair salon and Brenda remained home with their children Kim and John.

When not working and raising the family, the two made time for artistic pursuits. Don was a performer and director with the Palo Alto Community Theater and served as the chairman of the Menlo Players Guild. Brenda joined the Palo Alto Art Club and developed painting skills.

They also made regular trips back to England to visit family and friends and to show their children the places to which they had been evacuated during the war.

In the early 1990s, the family moved to Bellevue and, in the late 1990s, the couple retired in Greenbank where Don continued to pursue his theatrical interests, directing plays for Whidbey Playhouse and Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. Brenda also contributed, assisting in set design, set painting and costume design.

The couple has five grandchildren and an Australian shepherd named Tex, in addition to their two children.