Composer's grandson celebrates 50th wedding anniversary with the love of his life
A Worthing couple who hit the headlines when they met have celebrated their golden wedding – and they say they are as close today as they were when they were married in 1975.
Örn Kaldalóns, the grandson of well-known Icelandic composer Sigvaldi Kaldalóns, and his wife Kamilla Suzanne marked their 50th wedding anniversary on May 31 with a stay at the Burlington Hotel on Worthing seafront.
They were in the news when they fell in love, as Kamilla made the unusual move to set up home in Reykjavik, just south of the Polar Circle, leaving her job as an Inland Revenue typist in Worthing to be with Örn.
Known as Suzy Depledge at the time, she had met the Icelandic computer expert by chance when he was visiting Worthing to see a friend, and much of their early relationship was conducted through letters and telephone calls.
Kamilla was the only child of Thomas and Christine Depledge, and the only grandchild for Thomas's mum, living six doors away. To them, Iceland was a strange, far-off land of mountains and glaciers.
Örn said: "I arrived in England in April 1975, where I met her parents. We decided to marry on May 31. We said our vows at the wedding ceremony and over 100 friends and relatives attended the wedding reception in Field Place, where we showed slides from Iceland."
The couple had two daughters, Solveig and Helena, in Iceland. After 30 years of occasional earthquakes, a high cost of living, houses heated by hot water from the natural geysers and natural hot water open-air baths, Örn and Kamilla moved back to Worthing 19 years ago.
Örn received the Knight's Cross of the Icelandic Falcon Award in January 2023 and was subsequently knighted by the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, for his pioneering work in the support and promotion of the Icelandic language in computing and information technology in a career spanning more than 50 years.
Örn has done voluntary work for St Barnabas House hospice for six years and enjoys singing bass in Sussex Gruffs Male Choir.
Kamilla is a qualified secondary school teacher in English and Latin and is a tutor for maths. She continues to make delicious food, from all kinds of recipes, English and Icelandic.
There was an early anniversary celebration in April, when grandson Örn was visiting from California. The couple's daughters and granddaughter Brikelle also joined them for a party at Lemongrass in Rustington.