They say love is lovelier the second time around, and it is certainly true for this lovely couple. Caroline Reeves and Eddie Lamm were in their teens and in love way back in the 1950s.
However, after so many twists and turns, the high school sweethearts finally marry 65 years after breaking up.
This couple is a testament to the statement that some of the best things in life are worth waiting for. In 1956, Caroline Reeves and Eddie Lamm were in their teens, and in love.
They had been dating for a few years and were nearing their high school graduation. As the date neared, Caroline was eyeing Eddie’s class ring.
In her mind, her high school sweetheart’s class ring would make a perfect engagement ring, a symbol of their endearing love for each other.
She recalled, “It was an engagement ring. And I was the type of person that would have committed myself to him for the rest of my life with that ring.”
Unfortunately, it seemed like Eddie had other plans for his immediate future. He had already made up his mind to join ROTC at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville that fall.
Afterward, he intended to join the United States Air Force. Apparently, the idea of high school sweethearts marrying after graduation was not on his mind at all.
Eddie loved Caroline, but settling down was nowhere on the horizon for him. Before leaving for college, he kissed Caroline goodbye, with no plans for the high school sweethearts to marry now, or even sometime in the future.
The lack of commitment broke Caroline’s heart. She said, “I opened that car door and I got out of that car and ran up the steps and slammed the door and went upstairs and cried all night. That was it.”
Without the high school sweethearts marrying, the two would go on to lead fruitful, but separate lives.
Eddie eventually went on to fulfil his dreams. He flew KC-135s for the Air Force, married Polly Piper, and had two sons. Caroline got over the break-up, and actually became Ms. Nashville in 1959.
She too, got married and had children, after marrying Charles Wallace in 1961. In the past 60-plus years, she worked in interior design, contributed to magazines, wrote three novels, and travelled all over the world. Sadly, her second husband, George Kennedy, passed away in 2001.
In 2021, after 60 years of marriage, Eddie’s wife Polly passed away from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, ALS is a rare neurological disease that affects motor neurons, the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Eddie he had spent the last few years as his wife’s caretaker.
After his wife’s passing, alone and in his 80s, Eddie was finally able to look up the woman who he’d thought about for decades: Caroline. He said, “All at once something hits me. I said, ‘I’ve got to call her.’”
It took nine phone calls before Caroline finally answered. She too, related that she wondered about Eddie all the time. The two reconnected in a big way – they began talking and never stopped!
With so much time already wasted between them, Eddie confessed his love for Caroline after three nights of long phone calls.
From his home in California, he flew back to their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee to see her. And they immediately knew – it was love at second sight the moment she picked him up at the airport.
The high school sweethearts may have failed to marry decades ago, but they were more than ready to make up for lost time. Caroline moved to California to be with Eddie, and three months later – he finally proposed.
Eddie proposed to Caroline with his late mother’s engagement ring, but she sweetly declined the ring. She knew exactly what ring she wanted – the same high school class ring she had hoped for six decades ago!
More than six decades later, the high school sweethearts finally marry after breaking up in high school.
Eddie may be 85, and Caroline is 82, but their reunion had made feel young again. They both strive to stay young at heart, particularly given this second chance at love.
Caroline said, “When you’re in your 80s, you don’t have to grow old. We keep our minds going and we’re active and we have fun and laugh and tease and cut up and just want to just live as long — the best life we can live.”
When the high school sweethearts got married, Eddie looked dapper in a navy-colored suit, while Caroline’s outfit was brightly embroidered with flowers.
She believes they were brought back together to take care of each other in their old age. Still, she plans to be laid to rest separately from the man she loves.
In a gesture of true love, Caroline stated that she wants Eddie to be buried next to Polly, the mother of his children.
The high school sweethearts may have married so much later than expected, but their beautiful story speaks of something many people wish for – another chance at true love. As Caroline said, “It was miraculous. That we found our love again.”
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