All You Need Is Love

CAROL WILSON 

Small Town Boy / Big Town Girl 

After finishing high school in 1961, 18-year-old Richard moved from the small town of Lockeport, NS to Toronto. 

One day after church, the minister’s daughter asked Richard if he would like to go on a blind date with her best friend, Helen. Richard agreed to go. He assumed that Helen would be nice but was doubly pleased to discover that she was also extraordinarily beautiful! They had a wonderful time bowling, which led to many more dates. Sometimes Richard would pick Helen up from her high school and they would spend time eating ice cream together at St. Clair Dairy on “The Danforth”. 

Richard and Helen became engaged at Christmas, 1962 and were married in May,1963. Richard jokingly refers to their first daughter, Debbie (who was born in 1967), as “Our Centennial Project”. Their second daughter, Lisa, followed in 1972 on Groundhog Day. Richard and Helen also have 3 beautiful grandchildren: Evan, Morgan and Jonah.

In 1978, the family decided to go to Disney World. They fell in love with Florida (they refer to it as “Heaven on Earth”) and since then have been back about 30 times! 

After retiring in 2008, Richard and Helen joined OSCC, became volunteers and have been (and still are) involved in many activities. Helen volunteered with the OSCC John St. Adult Day Programme and still enjoys arts and crafts. For several years, both Richard and Helen convened regular bingo games, first at OSCC Conant Branch and then at John St. Branch. For many years they have sold Pot of Gold tickets at John St. Branch. Richard can often be found in the John St. Branch pool room. He also loves to sing and was one of the founding members of The Sing-Sations singing group. He has since helped organize and is currently a member of The Originals singing group. Richard and Helen both say, “The OSCC has much to offer. Join today and you will be happy like we have been for the last 12 years!”. 

In May, Richard and Helen Williams will celebrate 57 years of marriage, proving that a small town boy and a big town girl can make it just fine – all you need is love. 

Can you imagine the number of love stories there are at OSCC55+? Do you have an interesting story about how you met your partner? Perhaps we can include it in a future issue. Please contact Jennifer Milligan at ext. 2832 for more information.