Glasgow man's tribute to late wife after '90 years together'

For close on 90 years, they were together as friends, childhood sweethearts and eventually husband and wife.

And when Marion died, just a few weeks ago, Dan was at her side.

Marion in her teens (Image: Dan Harris)

“It was of great comfort to me that Marion died peacefully and that I could spend her last moments with her,” says Dan, 92. “I was holding her hands as she passed away.”

Glasgow Times readers know Dan and Marion well, through Dan’s stories on our Times Past local history pages.

Marion and her friend Maisie (Image: Dan Harris)

During their long lives together, the couple were only separated twice.

“When we were children, I was evacuated to Canada and Marion to Aberfoyle during World War Two,” he explains.

“And in the 1950s, I was in Berlin with the Royal Engineers for my National Service for two years.”

It was while he was on National Service that Dan proposed to Marion.

“She always joked that I gave her the most romantic proposal a girl had ever received…the chance for more money.” he says, smiling.

“My army pay was £2 a week. When I came home on embarkation leave, prior to being posted to what was then West Germany, I had a brainwave. I told Marion if we got married while I was on leave, we’d also be entitled to £2 a week marriage allowance.”

Marion Harris (Image: Dan Harris)

Dan and Marion, nee Scullion, went to Oakbank Primary together, and played in the same local swing park, just off Garscube Road.

Dan’s dad was a lamplighter, Marion’s dad was a moulder at Singer’s.

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They had their first date at the George Cinema just before Marion’s 16th birthday. Four years later, the couple got married.

Marion and Dan on their wedding day (Image: Dan Harris)

“It was an unusual service,” smiles Dan. “We had to apply for a special licence, because of the short timescale as I was home on leave.

“We had to go to see a sheriff to obtain his approval. We were married two days later, in the Registry Office on March 4, 1953. Only two others were present - my younger brother Billy and Marion’s pal Maisie.”

Dan adds: “My mother had planned on us having a traditional church wedding, with Marion being beautifully dressed in a white wedding gown.

“In spite of her deep disappointment, and the short notice she had been given about our wedding, she held a party in her house for us. It went very well, and she forgave me….”

After Dan was discharged from the army, he and Marion lived in a single end with a shared outside toilet in Maryhill. They moved to East Kilbride in January 1959, and had two daughters, Eleanor and Doreen.

Dan and Marion Harris (Image: Dan Harris)

Dan worked as a draughtsman with G&J Weir in Cathcart and then joined the National Engineering Laboratory.

After being made redundant at the age of 59, he worked in maths and computer studies teaching until he retired 10 years later.

Marion worked for a number of East Kilbride companies, before giving up paid employment to volunteer for charities and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

The couple loved to travel and spent long winter holidays in Portugal and Spain.

Marion Harris died, aged 90, on October 29, 2023. She is survived by her husband Dan and daughters Eleanor and Doreen.