Love can be found in every stage of your life — be it romantic love, platonic love, or familial, there are many people who are blessed enough o have all three. As we get older, there is the unfortunate inevitability of loss. The losses that hit us the hardest are usually our parents and spouses, as well as close friends and family members. 

When people who are widowed find love once again, it is a beautiful reason to celebrate. The loss of a beloved spouse is tragic, and can even lead to long periods of depression. Many people believe that their second love after losing their first is a welcome change, however, and sometimes, this second love can come later in life. 

Unfortunately, there is a belief that after a certain age, finding love is not only difficult but downright impossible. Senior citizens, for example, think their chance has passed. However, one story from 2019 definitively proves that there is no such thing as “too late.”

John Cook, a 101-year-old World War II veteran in 2019, and Phyllis Cook, a native of West Virginia who turned 104 in August 2020, got married to each other in 2019 after a year of dating. John met Phyllis at an assisted living facility in Ohio in 2018 and their friendship quickly blossomed into something more.

Their living facility, Kingston Residence of Sylvania, shared the happy news of the couple’s newfound love and wedding, and their post received hundreds of comments and shares. Read on to know more about this heartwarming love story. 

John and Phyllis Cook set an excellent example of finding love at any age. According to CNN, the two lovebirds live in a senior living facility called the Kingston Residence of Sylvania, which is located in Ohio. Like any other love story that starts with the meet-cute, Kingston Residence became the pivotal location for John and Phyllis to start a new chapter in their lives. 

Phyllis told WNWO according to CNN, “To tell you the truth, we fell in love with each other. I know you think that might be a little bit far-fetched for somebody our age, but we fell in love with each other.”

“Well, we were just compatible in a whole lot of ways, found ourselves enjoying each other’s company,” John added.

John, who is a 101-year-old World War II veteran, and Phyllis, a native of West Virginia who turned 104 on August 8, 2020, had been dating for the past year before they decided to tie the knot. As a devout Christian, Phyllis believed marriage was the next best step in their relationship—so the couple went to the courthouse to get a marriage license.

John explained that they never planned on actually getting married that day; they were just there for the license, but at the courthouse, John and Phyllis were told they could go ahead and be married if they wanted.

“It wasn’t the plan, but we got here and they said we could marry you here. I said ‘good, let’s get it over with,” the veteran said according to Fox 5 NY.