Mr and Mrs Soon Kesavan celebrating 55 years of marriage at M Hotel Singapore surrounded by more than 200 family and friends.
Celebrating
55 Years
Of
Wedded Bliss
Marriage advice? “When she talks, keep quiet and listen.”
On 25 May 2019, Soon and June Kesavan celebrated their milestone of 55th ‘Emerald’ Wedding Anniversary at the M Hotel Ballroom. Surrounded by family and friends, the celebration was filled with music and singing as the happy couple enjoyed time with their guests.
In this article, Soon’s daughter, Ms Paula Kesavan tells us about how her parents met.
Mr Soon was introduced to his wife in 1958 by a friend from the police force. At the time, June was interested in learning hurdling and as Mr Soon was a former Olympic sprinter and had recently passed a coaching course, he agreed to coach her. As things turned out, June did not end up learning hurdling seriously, but the couple continued to keep in touch and attended dances and functions together with their friends.
Soon and June at a tea dance in 1962 when they were still dating. They got engaged in 1963. 
A loving photo of the newly-wedded couple at a snake temple in Penang, Malaysia, where they had their honeymoon getaway. This photo was taken on 8 June 1964.
In 1959, Mr Soon decided to join the Singapore Armed Forces and was sent to military college in Port Dickson for training. The couple continued their relationship over his 2-year course, with Mr Soon coming back to Singapore every time he had a course break and June travelling up to see him with her parents and Mr Soon’s mother.
After Mr Soon returned to Singapore, the couple continued dating and met every evening, whenever he was not training or on duty. They decided to tie the knot in 1964.
Soon was a Lieutenant in the armed forces during the Konfrontasi period (1963-1966) and saw very little of his son during his infant years. Pictured here is Soon, 23, with his family at Port Dickson when he graduated from military college in 1961. (L-R) June’s sister, Celeste Phillips; June’s parents; June and Soon; and Mrs Kesavan, Soon’s mother who is Chinese and married Soon’s father who is an Indian.
Soon and June with close family and friends at a photoshoot on their wedding day in 1964.
The early days of their marriage was tough. Singapore was going through an important and challenging transition in its history, Mr Soon was involved in the setting up of the armed forces. In fact, Konfrontasi caused Mr Soon to be away from home a lot when June was pregnant with their first child and he was in the jungle in Johor when his son, Andrew, was born. He only had time to return to see his newborn for a short time before returning to the jungle. Their daughter, Paula, was born four years later.
The Konfrontasi (Confrontation) (1963-66) was a campaign launched by Indonesia to oppose the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, which Singapore was a part of from 1963 to 1965. At that time, Singapore suffered as conflict was tense, resulting in riots and even a bombing at that time.
Soon and June with their young family, son Andrew and daughter Paula at the Kesavan family home in Singapore, taken around 1972.
A photo of the family taken at Andrew’s wedding in 2016. Next to Andrew is his wife, Tricia.
Like every couple, Soon and June Kesavan faced ups and downs in their marriage. But in his thank you speech at the celebration lunch, Mr Soon did not give a long speech about marriage as he felt that there was no secret formula to it. Instead, the couple chose to give thanks for being blessed with a good family life, good children and good friends after 55 years, with whom they could celebrate their special occasion with and that made them happy.
When asked for tips on a long-lasting marriage, Soon said, “When she talks, keep quiet and listen.”
Here are some photos from the 55th wedding bash.
The happy couple beaming as they made their entrance into the ballroom of M Hotel Singapore.
Flanked by his wife and daughter, Paula (right), Soon prepares for his speech to thank his guests.
Guests at the event included some of Singapore’s track greats from the 1950s. (L-R) Cedric Monteiro (1959 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games), Tang Pui Wah (1952 Summer Olympics), and Mary Klass (1956 Summer Olympics). Soon himself was a former sprinter at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
Soon and June with friends and colleagues from Hong Leong Group Sports & Recreation Club (HLGSRC). Soon joined the Group in 1994 as the Sports Coordinator and is still an active member of the club’s committee.
