Love at second sight

Angelique Flores

Barbara and Ted Goon will be having a royal Valentine’s Day this year.

Barbara, 83, and Ted, 88, will be crowned Valentine’s Day king and queen

Sunday at their home at Huntington Terrace Residential Care.

The couple, who first met after World War II when their families lived

next door to each other in Corona del Mar, have been married for 17

years.

The story of their courtship, which began three decades after the two

lost touch, inspired residents of the Huntington Beach home to vote for

Barbara and Ted.

The happy couple started out as friends, both married other people and

raised their respective families in the same Corona del Mar neighborhood.

First, one family moved away, then the other.

“We didn’t have contact again for 30 years,” Ted said.

After those 30 years, both were widowed -- Ted was living in Brentwood

and Barbara lived in Marin County in Northern California.

On a business trip to Barbara’s part of the state, Ted called her on a

whim, not expecting her to return his call.

“I called the number and hit the jackpot,” Ted said.

When Ted told his son and daughter about phoning Barbara, they remembered

how fond they were of their former Corona del Mar neighbor when they were

young children. They arranged for Barbara to come down for a visit.

“They decided to take it over, beginning the adventure,” Ted said. “My

children ordered me to develop a close relationship with her or they’d

shoot me.”

Soon after, Barbara and Ted had a “shotgun” wedding.

Barbara said the small children she remembered had grown up to be

wonderful adults, who now lavish her with love.

“I enjoyed being the center of attention,” Barbara said. “They were a

wonderful family, and now we’re two big happy families.”