It was a wedding more than six decades in the making.
When 83-year-old Marvin ‘Skip’ Fennessy married 80-year-old Hazel Fennessy in Cranbrook this past Saturday, the pair was making up for lost time.
“It’s a love story and we’re very fortunate to see this,” said Hazel’s daughter, Colleen Rockcliffe.
Skip first met a 17-year-old Hazel way back in 1953, when she moved to White Fox, Saskatchewan from Cranbrook. The couple quickly fell in love.
“We went to a Jaffray dance, Fort Steele dances, hiking up to the mountains and out hunting,” they fondly recalled.
But their fling was brief. Too young to get married, they broke apart, went their separate ways and ended up marrying other people. Hazel’s husband died eight years ago and a year later, she decided to try and find Skip. With the help of her daughter Colleen, they located the still-married Skip.
“We researched and we found him, but he was in Cranbrook so she didn’t pursue it,” said Rockcliffe.
But last June, Skip’s wife passed away and he, as the unofficial Cranbrook town historian, stumbled across an article in ‘The Senior Paper’ out of Regina that led him to find Hazel, who was living in town of Chase, B.C.
“So then I phoned her and she nonchalantly says, ‘Hi.’ Just no surprise. The month of November, my telephone bill was considerable,” said Skip.
Hazel went to visit Skip in Cranbrook last December and never came back. Three months later, she and Skip finally made it official, exchanging vows at the Heritage Inn.
“He treats her like a queen and she treats him like a king and I think it’s wonderful,” said Reynolds.
As for Hazel?
“I am a very happy lady, I’m honoured to be his wife,” she said.
“After 62 years,” added Skip.