Françoise was born in Lobbes on September 3, 1953. She has two older brothers. Her father works in retail and her mother is a stay-at-home mother. The family moved to Tournai then to Brussels. Françoise will study accounting and secretarial work there.
Richard was born in La Bouverie on January 6, 1950. An only child, he came from a true mixed marriage between his father, English and Protestant, and his Belgian and Catholic mother. Arriving in Mons in 1944 for the liberation, the RAF officer found love and never left…
Richard grew up on rue de la Régence, on his mother’s family farm. At a very young age, he helped on the farm and attended the Brothers’ school. He continued at the Middle School for Boys in Pâturages then the Athénée de Mons and finally Dour, until the end of the 3e secondary. At 17, he decided to quit school and was hired at the Reynols aluminum factory in Ghlin. At 19, he opted for Belgian nationality and entered the NCO School in Dinant. He then went to Germany as a sergeant for two years.
Their meeting
Françoise and Richard met on June 3, 1972, at a wedding to which they went with feet of lead. A military colleague of Richard marries a friend of Françoise in Montignies-le-Tilleul… and the lead turns into sparks!
Richard is still based in Germany and Françoise, who was then planning to continue her studies, decides to look for work so she can get married. The engagement took place in October 1972 and the couple married on June 8, 1974, Saint-Médard’s Day. And not to make the saying lie, it rained from morning until evening!
The newlyweds settle in at SHAPE because Richard returns there as a non-commissioned officer. Françoise works at SNCB in Mons, after starting her career in Brussels. After two years at SHAPE, the couple moved to Mesvin.
Two girls
The family grew with the arrival of Nancy on March 21, 1979 and Sarah on September 6, 1981. After Nancy’s birth, Françoise left her job and became a stay-at-home mother.
After 20 years at SHAPE where he was in charge of the press review, Richard was hired by NATO… where he would do the same work for 20 years as well. In 1995, the couple purchased the house on rue Jules Cousin.
In terms of leisure activities, Françoise says she likes crosswords, reading, aquagym but also plants and nature. She attended the academy because she played the cello. She has also been volunteering at ONE for 20 years. Richard, for his part, likes to take care of the outdoors, ride a bike and admits a passion for pirate radio… Travel, in various forms and destinations, is also there (caravanning, rentals or hotels, in Europe… or further).
They have the great pleasure of being grandparents twice to Olivia (13 years old) and Robin (8 years old) and love nothing more than taking care of their grandchildren whom they regularly take home. ‘school.
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