The couple built a house in High St, where they raised their three children and lived for the next 49 years before deciding the garden had outgrown them.
Their next move was around the corner to Bush Rd, where they have lived for the past 13 years.
''I certainly was very happy where we were but I just thought it was a bit much and I finally convinced Jim to move ... and we have never been happier,'' Mrs Downes (84) said. Handy to Gladstone Rd and the shops, Bush Rd was the perfect location, Mrs Downes said.
''It's a fantastic place to live really. We know our neighbours and they are all very nice and caring.''
There had been a lot of changes in Mosgiel during the past 60 years - not all for the better, with the Mosgiel Woollen Mill closing and the amalgamation of the Mosgiel Borough Council with the Dunedin City Council, but it was still a very pleasant place to live, Mrs Downes said.
Mr Downes (86) worked as a mechanical engineer at the mill until it was closed in 1990.
''We have loved living in Mosgiel and have had a very happy life,'' she said.
