Couple reunites after 65 years, thanks to an assist from their siblings


They last saw each other 65 years ago, but to Frederick Paul and Florence Harvey, it felt like no time had passed.
During their teens, Paul, 84, and Harvey, 81, courted. In 1955, Paul left their hometown of Wandsworth, Newfoundland, thinking he'd be gone for a short time. He found work in Toronto, though, and when he came back after more than a year, Paul learned that Harvey was now in St. John's, enrolled in a teaching course.
If not for their brothers who live in the same retirement home, Paul and Harvey would have never reconnected decades later. Last February, Harvey was visiting her brother when he slipped her Paul's phone number. She had been married for 57 years before her husband died three years earlier, and Paul had been married to his wife for 60 years until her death in 2019. Harvey knew Paul would be lonely, and gave him a call.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Soon, they were spending hours on the phone with each other nearly every day, reminiscing about their courtship. It turns out Paul lived 10 minutes away from Harvey's son, and in June, she came for a visit. When she arrived, "I knew right away that she had taken my heart back again," Paul told CBC News.
Harvey felt the same way, saying "there was still something there after all those years." Within days, they were discussing marriage, and on Aug. 8, they wed in a small, family-only ceremony. "We told our kids, you know, we're 81 and we're 84, and we don't have all that much time and we know what we want," Paul said. Right before Harvey's visit, Paul was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and he told CBC News he's fighting hard because he has "the incentive of a love in my life."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published