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Fools Rush In: 100-Year-Old Man Marries Girlfriend Of 30 Years
Photo by Jose and Roxanne via Flickr
Capistrano Beach resident Forrest Lunsway celebrated his 100th birthday with a party on Saturday, surprising attendees by marrying his girlfriend of nearly thirty years, 93-year-old Rose Pollard, reports the OC Register.
The couple met in 1983 while looking for dance partners after the passing of their significant others. Friends set them up on a blind date:
It was a Christmas party at the Long Beach Senior Center and the two danced the night away. Lunsway asked Pollard out on a date, but he lived in Cypress and she lived in Capistrano Beach. "He lived 40 miles away. It was what you call geographically undesirable. I didn't think it would last," Pollard said.
The two would meet for dates halfway, sometimes Lunsway driving the full distance to pick up his lady and drop her at home after a night out. "If someone will do that, you know that's something," Pollard said. 20 years later, Lunsway sold his Cypress home, moved to Capistrano Beach, and asked her to marry him.
"I told him I would marry him on his 100th birthday," Pollard said. laughing. "I had never intended for him to remember."
When the Dana Point Community Center heard about their story, the senior activities director started planning. About 90 people gathered to in celebration of Lunsway's big day indulging in wedding cake, birthday cake, sparkling cider and chocolate-covered strawberries. The honeymoon was a one night stay at the Laguna Cliffs Resort & Spa donated by the Dana Point retreat, and the couple received congratulatory cards from the President and First Lady and Gov. Jerry Brown.
Both newlyweds have children from other marriages. Lunsway outlived both his former wives and credits his long life to keeping active. "Use it or lose it," he says, notes the OC Register.
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