 Placentia, CA 92870 – When Bob Harrod was 24 years-old, he was set up on a blind date by a friend. That is how he met the then-17 year-old Fontelle Heeter. He remembers that “She had this long, long hair. I thought she was fantastic, just beautiful.” Fontelle also recalls the first time she saw Bob, saying, “I fell in love at first sight.” The two Missouri natives were inseparable for 2 years, and Bob gave Fontelle an engagement ring in 1950. Then Bob was called away to serve in the Marines. Fontelle wrote to him, but her letters were always returned, and she never received any from him. She waited for him, but found out that he had married after he got back. She said, “I never tried to contact him. I was afraid it would cause trouble.” She, too, eventually married and had children. Three years ago, her husband died. Her daughter remembered hearing stories about her mother’s first love, and decided to look him up. She found his phone number and called him at his home in Placentia, California, where he has lived for seven years. As her daughter dialed the phone for the now 75 year-old, Fontelle wore the diamond engagement ring she had received so many years before. Bob became a widower two years ago, and had tried to contact Fontelle, but couldn’t find her since her last name had changed. Once they finally connected, they talked every day until Bob invited her to visit him in California. On June 23rd, Fontelle landed in California, with Bob waiting there to pick her up. Although the couple hadn’t seen each other in 59 years, Bob said, “The old flame still burned.” Fontelle agreed, saying that Bob hadn’t changed since he was 24. “He still has the same laugh and the same sweet disposition,” she said. “He always has to open the door for me and pull out the seatbelt for me and tell me how beautiful I am.” Then, two days before Fontelle was scheduled to fly back to Missouri, Bob asked what it would take to keep her there. Fontelle’s response? “Marriage!” Only six days after she arrived in California, Fontelle went with Bob to the County Clerk’s Office in Fullerton and got married on the spot. After a quick trip back to Missouri to get her belongings, 75 year-old Fontelle is moving to Placentia to live with the man she planned to marry when she was 19, almost 60 years ago. As Bob said, “We must have been in love in a former life.” And now they have the rest of this one together.
|
877-826-9866
