When they said, “I do,” they meant, “I really do, for life.”

Originally posted on November 9, 2010

My recently deceased great-aunt Dorothy and great-uncle Bill had one of those rare and precious love affairs that lasted a lifetime. Dorothy always said she could not stay on this planet if Bill weren’t with her. And so it was that she died of a broken heart just three weeks after Bill’s passing. They were both near the age of ninety.

Following the funeral, I was at their house, moving some of their worldly possessions, when I came upon a red heart, hand-made from construction paper. On one side, Dorothy had written, “Dear Bill, will you be my Valentine? Please, Bill, please!” When Bill found it (probably on his pillow or breakfast plate), he turned it over and wrote, “Yes, Dorothy, yes!” This sweet little gesture of love between them is just one of the ways that they kept their love alive for over 60 years. We could learn a lot from lovers like Bill and Dorothy.