Retirement home lovebirds, ages 95 and 84, set to wed: ‘Very happy’

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Two elderly lovebirds – she’s 84, he’s 95 – are knocking down the wall between their adjacent rooms at the London retirement home where they met and will soon become the first couple to ever marry at its chapel.

The widow and widower, Suzanne Scott and Colin Oates, met at Windermere on the Mount in north London and will tie the knot there, with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in attendance, on July 13 – thrilling the facility’s staff and giving them both an unexpected shot at love after losing their spouses.

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“This love we’ve brought to each other is quite remarkable,” Oates said. 

The couple is looking forward to their wedding day. Scott will be escorted down the aisle with her sons to the sound of bagpipes. A grandchild from each side and great-grandchildren will act as bridesmaids. An outdoor barbeque with lots of wine is planned to follow the ceremony.

But most of all, the bride and groom are excited for the next part of their lives together as companions.

“I don’t have a lot of years left, so I’m going to make the best of it,” Oates said. “These four or five years are going to be very happy years. We will go anywhere we want in the freaking world.”

Added Scott on what lies ahead: “We’re going through it together.”

Oates and Scott are next-door neighbours at the retirement home and are breaking a wall to connect both apartments. They haven’t moved in together yet, not until they’re officially married, he said. 

“We’ve been behaving ourselves,” Oates said, laughing.

The pair finishes each other’s sentences, exchanges playful banter, and shares stories and jokes without ever letting go of each other’s hands. 

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They met after losing their longtime partners. Getting married or falling in love again never crossed their minds, they say. 

Oates moved into Windermere after his wife of more than 60 years, Joan Campbell, died. It left him in a dark place, he recalled.

“When I moved to this apartment, I just sat in my den hoping to die,” he said. “She was half of my life. It took me a long time to recover. Sometimes I wonder if I’m recovered now.”

About three years ago, he befriended a man in Windermere’s garden, Bill Scott. They would go on daily walks together and he would see Bill’s wife – Suzanne – visit him in hospital until Bill died in 2023.

“One day, I saw this lady walking by, and I recognized her as Bill’s widow, and I said, ‘I’m so sorry for your loss,’” Oates said. 

She recalled seeing Oates, and noticing tears often in his eyes.

“One day, I said good morning to him. I’m not sure if he replied ‘good morning’ or if he said ‘I’m in mourning.’ He was still trying to do the things everybody does,” Scott said.

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Both kept each other company and started going to dinner and movies together. Their friendship continued for months until, one night, Oates’ hand accidentally brushed Suzanne’s.

“I thought: My god, I mustn’t do that,” he said. “I pulled my hand back, but she grabbed it and said we could hold hands.”

After months, while discovering how much they had in common, Scott woke up to an unexpected phone call from Oates, asking if she had ever considered getting married again.

“At 93, I found myself desperately in love,” he said. “I woke up and had to call her.”

A long pause made Oates believe he had lost Suzanne’s friendship, but she said she thought about it “on occasion,” and the proposal came. 

Suzanne’s feelings were new, too, she said, and a few weeks later, in front of all the residents at Windemere, Oates got down on one knee and proposed with a ring during a bingo game.  

“I was flattered. I won’t say I was shy, but I worried about him because I know what his knees are like,” she said.

Said Oates: “I didn’t want to live any more until I met Suzanne. Now, suddenly, I want to. She brings joy to my life.”

bbaleeiro@postmedia.com

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