How We Met

JUNE & JOHN

June and John enjoy dancing, cheek-to-cheek, as if they’ve been doing it for the past 50 years.

But they only got together five years ago, when she was 80 and he was 82.

John, widowed after 58 years of marriage, and June, divorced, had known about each other through a mutual friend and neighbour. That they happened to live five minutes apart on foot, in the same Vancouver neighbourhood, made it easier for them to then start seeing each other and spending time together.

It was June who first reached out to John, on the nudging of her daughter and their neighbour, sometime after John was widowed.

“I knew he liked to dance,” she says, “and so do I.” Their neighbourhood Community Centre, also nearby, offered afternoon ballroom dancing socials, so June took the chance and invited John to a Saturday afternoon event.

“I was at loose ends,” says John, “so I said yes.” It turned out to be a fun afternoon of both dancing and socializing with other seniors. “He was funny,” says June.

Then one social activity together led to the next, and their getting-to-know-each-other naturally progressed after that.

“It just clicked,” says John. “We have a lot in common.”

That included their British origins. June grew up in Kent, and John in Surrey, before they each ended up in Western Canada. “We understood each other’s background,” they concur. “And we enjoy British films.”

Later into their relationship, which had taken on a life of its own, June and John learned they also shared similar family tragedies. This mutual experience bonded them further.

“My daughter accepted him right away,” says June, referring to the daughter who encouraged her in the first place. “It took my daughter a while longer,” adds John, whose daughter lives in the UK, and, given the distances between them, needed a bit of time to get to know June.

A retired engineer, John still works a couple of mornings a week driving local deliveries for a neighbourhood business. “It keeps me going,” he says. “It’s important to stay active.”

Both agree that they’re still having lots of fun at their age. “He’s an absolute treasure,” says June, as she slides her arm into his. “He’s a keeper,” she adds, as John gives her hand an acknowledging squeeze.

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