Together to give the best
They were officially celebrated in the town of Fléron for their alabaster wedding anniversary. The Alderwoman of the Wedding, Sylvia De Jonghe-Galler, presented them with an honorary citizenship diploma and a basket filled with the names of their Majesties the King and the Queen.
“True love is putting the needs and expectations of others before your own. Nowadays, that’s quite an achievement! As for you, you met at a time when when something breaks, you don't throw it away, you repair it! You are a wonderful example for all of us and especially for our young people,” she said.
Josiane was born on July 29, 1931 in Rhode-Saint-Genèse, the sixth in a family of nine children and the first girl. “There are only three of us left with a brother and a sister,” she says. Charles was born on September 15, 1929 in Waterloo, the eldest of three children. Their moms are two sisters! They are first cousins. “So I’ve known Josiane since the cradle,” admits Charles. They have four children and have adopted four, 19 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren, the last one being born a month ago!
A generation of pastors
Josiane and Charles became pastors in the Salvation Army in Paris with the same studies, the same rank (captain) “because we had a missionary and religious vocation. It is God who placed us on the path of those we helped,” they admit. Their son, Yves, who is their neighbor, is also a pastor just like his son, the seventh couple of pastors in the family! Josiane and Charles go to worship at the Salvation Army in Liège every Sunday morning.
