TULSA, Okla. — On this Valentine's Day, two widows who have experienced great love and loss share their story of hope, encouragement, and a fresh chance at love.
"When I thought life was over, life had just begun," said Bill Johnson.
Bill and his new wife Carolyn admit they never thought they'd find love again. "I said one and done!" said Carolyn Wood Johnson.
Little did they know they'd find each other just down the hall at Montereau.
Carolyn moved into the senior community first in 2021. "I had been with my husband almost 65 years; we were married one month short of 65 years when he passed four months after we came to Montereau."
A year later, Bill arrived, recovering from the loss of his wife. "In 2021, we both got COVID, and hers turned into a long haul, and I lost her in September, so I thought my life in that area was done," said Bill.
Carolyn and Bill's love story begins in Montereau's library, where Carolyn volunteers.
"I was in there putting books away, straightening the shelves, and he was in one of the armchairs reading the newspaper. And I said hello, my name is Carolyn Wood. I told him I'm 88 years old. I don't know why I told him that. I was 87 at the time, and he said, " I'll remember that I'm 78, " I said, " Oops!" Carolyn said.
"I'd be reading the newspaper, and Carolyn would catch my attention so that I would slip the paper down. When she turned back toward me, I'd put the paper back up," said Bill.
Bill returned during Carolyn's shifts, and the two got to know each other. "She just struck me as a genuinely nice person, very active, very fit, and very pretty," he said.
"I said to my middle child, there's this gentleman here I find very interesting. We are very different, but we have begun to spend time together. Do you think it's too soon? And he told me no; I think Dad would be happy for you, and it would actually be an honor," said Carolyn.
So Carolyn agreed to a first date, a stroll around the property's lake. Bill planned to feed the catfish, and that's not all.
"We sat there, and I said I was going to kiss you today, and I thought maybe she'd get up and leave, but she didn't," said Bill.
From there, friendship quickly turned into courtship. "From that point on, it was all meant to be, you know," said Bill.
And when spring sprung, Bill popped the question. "On March 26 last year, he said, 'Would you marry me? ' and I said, 'Yes, I will,'" said Carolyn.
So on June 8, 2023, at Montereau, where they first met, kissed, and fell in love, Bill and Carolyn became husband and wife.
"So we asked Judge James Jordan if he would marry us, and he said yes. Bill and I wrote the script together, and he married us in that lovely little chapel," said Carolyn.
It was a romantic sequel the couple had never seen coming.
"I can't imagine my life now without Bill. When he's gone for the day, I miss him sorely. I am so eager for him to get back I often stand at the window and look, hoping he'll be here soon," said Carolyn.
"We have a tendency to hang onto things as long as we can. I would advise people not to let their stuff keep them from enjoying the last part of their lives," said Bill.
And as this pair who loves to dance together, two steps through this phase of life together, they're grateful to have found happily ever after again.
"I've had love before, and I have love now, and I'm so blessed to have that," said Carolyn.
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