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This Could Be the Sweetest Wedding Announcement You’ll Ever Read Between a 97-Year-Old Bride and an 86-Year-Old Groom

Jan. 28, 2013 3:43pm

Over the weekend the New York Times printed a wedding announcement unlike those seen every weekend.

Ada Laurie Bryant and Robert Mitchell Haire were wed in Hockessin, Del., Saturday. The bride, a widow, is 97 years old — and will keep her last name — and the groom, a widower, is 86 years old.

New York Times Wedding Announcement Between Ada Bryant, 97, and Robert Haire, 86

(Photo: Robert L. Bryant via the New York Times)

The Times reported that the couple met in 2007 when Haire and his then wife, Jean, moved into the same retirement community as Bryant in Wilmington, Del., where the bride had lived since moving there with her late husband in 2001. Bryant and Haire’s former wife became friends.

When Mrs. Haire died in 2011 from Lou Gehrig’s disease, Mr. Haire commissioned a portrait of his late wife from Byrant. After presenting him with the painting, the two shared lunch and, as they say, the rest is history.

Here’s more from the Times’ announcement:

“There was some kind of feeling,” Mr. Haire recalled.

They began going on regular lunch dates and became very close, revealing to each other that both hated going to dinner alone at Country House. Even though they knew it meant they might be labeled a “couple” by the other residents (a “couple” being a widow and a widower who do things together), they started going together.

On Jan. 25, 2012, Mr. Haire, a hobbyist poet, slipped a sonnet vowing “friendship and affection” beneath Mrs. Bryant’s apartment door with a note that said “this represents how I feel in our relationship as a couple.” He was afraid to give it to her in person.

“I was desperately trying to strike a balance between too timid or bold. I didn’t want to mess things up,” he said about the courtship. “I can attest that it doesn’t get easier even in advanced age.”

The romantic relationship between the two progressed and on Valentine’s Day, the Times reported, Haire gave Bryant a sapphire with the intent of having it set in an engagement ring. Bryant refused him at first, saying she would accept it as a friendship ring. To which Haire responded with “I’d very much like you to accept it in whatever way you’d like.”

The romance — and sonnets — continued with some talk of marriage, but it wasn’t until August 2012 that Bryant accepted the proposal.

“There’s a great difference in our ages, as you can see,” the Times reported Bryant saying about her initial refusals. “I didn’t think it was the thing to do because I don’t have that many years ahead of me, but he said, ‘That’s all the more reason.’ I like him very much. I love him. So we’re going to be married.”

(H/T: Gawker)

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Comments (26)

  • Melika
    Posted on January 29, 2013 at 8:19am

    The only thing of interest in this story is why the Times felt it necessary to explain what a “couple” is. Seriously, do they not call two people dating “couples” anymore or are they all just F-buddies in NY?

    Report this comment

    Melika  
  • sunshineSue
    Posted on January 29, 2013 at 6:04am

    Robert Browning said:”Come, go along with me, the best is yet to be”. He believed in Eternal Marriage. So does Glen Beck. So do I. What a lovely couple.

    Report this comment

    sunshineSue  
  • sunshineSue
    Posted on January 29, 2013 at 5:56am

    Add your comments

    Report this comment

    sunshineSue  
  • GotToGo2012
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 9:14pm

    ok so this is nice and cute and all that……but come on….seriously…..this is like one of those “how many funny things can you say about something in 30 seconds” gigs if I ever did see one.
    I won’t be mean….I hope they have a “long” happy marriage. But I think half of the thoughts that have run through my head in the last 2 minutes have sealed my fate and I am going to Hell.

    Report this comment

    GotToGo2012  
    • theonlynana
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 10:25pm

      Love and friendships come into ones life when there is a need, that these two found each other and
      share what ever years they may have left, is a blessing for them and for those who smile and feel their
      happy thoughts and feelings

      Report this comment

      theonlynana  
  • lassiegirldawn
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:39pm

    If they have a kid they better name him Isaac.

    Report this comment

    lassiegirldawn  
  • COFemale
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:35pm

    She’s a cougar. LOL

    What a lovely story. So glad they found togetherness in the later years of life. If one passes, they will not die alone. Hope they have at least 3 years together. She is 97, the odds to living to 100 is low.

    Report this comment

    COFemale  
    • bumpkin
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 10:32pm

      Not necessarily! I plan to live to be 150. Its not absolutely un-doable, at least by the time I get to 85 or so- Oh, wait. I forgot about Chick Obama and his nefarious plan to destroy so many of us. OK.. ONCE Chick Obama is GONE, there is little reason for folks to not set their sights on the far future- when one considers how blazing-fast medical care has advanced; it only gets better from here. (Post Obama.) Perhaps these two kids will live much longer! Gosh! Just think- if she decided to live to 150, she would only be just under 2/3 of the way there, much like a 66 yr old, that was planning to live to 100. OH! You should TRY planning on extending your life! It takes SO much pressure off a person! Now that I am going to live at least 50 more years, I feel younger, lighter-hearted, and leaves me with the feeling that I have tons of time! Not only that, I am fairly certain that youth-giving hormones are coursing through my body, because I feel like a young lady, instead of an old granny. :) This couple can possibly live as long as they want to! Consider that when my Grandma was alive, the average life expectancy was 47 years. That was in 1900. Now, Ets over 77 yrs. But compounding escalates! Every few years, the spread of numbers becomes narrower. As an RN, I’ve cared for many octogenarians. You wouldn’t BELIEVE how many told me they were tired of living! This couple looks healthy. Hope they live as long as they want to!

      Report this comment

      bumpkin  
  • mary12153
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:32pm

    She’s a couger ! ! !

    Report this comment

    mary12153  
  • media-bias-steals-elections
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:20pm

    Only theBlaze is where you find stories that are not biased by the media? Nice!

    Report this comment

    media-bias-steals-elections  
  • Frogginit
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 7:36pm

    They’ll need a vacuum cleaner to clean up the dust if they consummate the marriage.

    Report this comment

    Frogginit  
  • tradcatholicgirl
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 6:31pm

    I work everyday with octogenerians and nonagenerians (people in their 80′s and 90′s). This story brought tears to my eyes. They are greatly blessed,

    Report this comment

    tradcatholicgirl  
  • Xylliab_of_the_Znarghh
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 5:12pm

    This isn’t a marriage because these two can’t have children. At least that’s what they keep telling me every time the Blaze runs a story on same sex marriage. This couple has about as much chance of having a baby as two dudes, so it must not be a marriage.

    Report this comment

    Xylliab_of_the_Znarghh  
    • COFemale
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 8:37pm

      Sorry marriage is defined as one man one woman, thus this is a marriage in the eyes of the law.

      Two males or two females is not a marriage. It is cohabitation with the same sex.

      Next.

      Report this comment

      COFemale  
    • Small World
      Posted on January 28, 2013 at 9:10pm

      @XYLLIAB…You are a sick twisted evil person.

      Report this comment

      Small World  
  • normalmom
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 4:52pm

    That is such a sweet story. She looks amazing for 97 years old too. I enjoy great stories like that, not enough of those these days.

    Report this comment

    normalmom  
  • amb
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 4:29pm

    What ever works for them.

    Report this comment

    amb  
  • Witness1974
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 4:29pm

    These marriages with such a great age difference never last.

    Report this comment

    Witness1974  
  • biohazard23
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 4:18pm

    Awwww…. That is so sweet! And he’s absolutely adorable saying he didn’t want to give her the sonnet in person. How freakin’ cute is that? :)

    Report this comment

     
  • BubbaCoop
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 4:01pm

    Isn’t she a little young for him?

    Report this comment

    BubbaCoop  
  • 1FreeVoice
    Posted on January 28, 2013 at 3:55pm

    2 lives, one heart.
    May they enjoy a longer and more joyful time together than even they hoped for.

    Report this comment

    1FreeVoice  

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