Tales to warm the heart

Noaki Schwartz

Valentine’s Day for many couples means champagne flutes, gifts in pale

blue with white ribbon or an exotic weekend retreat.

But for the 10 winning couples in a Newport Dunes contest, this day of

all days is a poignant reminder of what they’ve overcome simply by

following their hearts. Together, they’ve faced the fear that they’d

never love again, life-threatening illnesses and a turn in economic

prosperity.

Couples whose relationships have endured and indeed flourisheddespite

adversity were asked to write a one-page summary of their love story.

Monday, the winners will attend a complimentary luncheon at the Back Bay

Cafe.

These are three of the most touching tales:

REDISCOVERING LOVE

Back in 1935, Bob and Weedie Derr were part of the same group of friends

that put the high school yearbook together. In their graduating photo,

the group of a dozen hopeful teenagers are all on the same page. Bob made

sure his picture was right next to Weedie’s.

Once the yearbook was completed, tassels were thrown and diplomas were in

hand, the group parted. Leaving the small Ohio town with a population of

6,500, Bob and Weedie went their separate ways.

It was the time of the Great Depression and only three students in the

graduating class went off to college. The rest joined the Army or got

jobs. Life went on and the two married other people, had children and

lived their lives.

They would’ve forgotten about each other entirely if it weren’t for a

letter inviting them back for a high school reunion in 1980.

“I was single and wanted to see everyone,” Weedie said.

“I hadn’t been to any of the reunions,” Bob added.

In the interim, both had lost their spouses and had never entertained the

thought of remarrying or even falling in love again.

And so Weedie went back to Ohio from Indiana and Bob flew out from

California.

Having had some trouble renting a car at the airport, Bob pulled up late,

driving a flashy red Pontiac Firebird with a big gold eagle painted on

the hood. Even more awkward, though, was the moment he walked into the

reunion and realized he was the only person wearing a Hawaiian-print

shirt.

“It looked like an undertaker’s convention,” he recalled.

However, his unconventional California ways intrigued Weedie. He slipped

into the seat across from hers and the two spent the evening reminiscing

and laughing about old times.

They were already falling in love and had clearly stepped back in time.

The couple, then in their mid-60s, spent the rest of the weekend

together. They went out dancing and stayed out into the wee hours of the

morning.

Forgetting her years, Weedie warned Bob not to honk his horn when he

picked her up because her 95-year-old mother didn’t like it. She also

worried that her mother would reprimand her for staying out so late.

Eventually, the weekend passed and the two went home. Then the flowers,

phone calls and trips began. And continued.

Bob proposed four months later because the distance was proving to be too

expensive.

However, before she accepted, Bob called all seven of Weedie’s children

for their permission, which they happily gave. The couple married a month

later.

“The kids keep saying, ‘Bob, if you take her off our hands, the check is

in the mail,”’ Bob said, adding that he still hasn’t seen any money.

Now the Newport Beach couple, who are in their early 80s, are preparing

to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this year. Bob’s hoping for a

big fat check.

But Bob can attest to the old saying, “money can’t buy me love.”

“It just happened,” Bob said. “I wasn’t out looking.”

“That first weekend, I was hoping and praying,” Weedie recalled. “I guess

it was supposed to be.”

SOUL MATES

That they are soul mates is not visible on the surface. Jodi is Western

and Eric’s from the East. She’s just out of college and he’s looking

toward retirement.

And then there’s the lingering issue of the rare form of cancer that has

stubbornly attached to a muscle under her brain.

Still, looking deeper from the heart, their souls are indeed intertwined.

“It was right from the start,” said Eric Vanpraag. “She fills my life

with a lot of sunshine. It’s her demeanor, her personality, her

idiosyncrasies -- like when she uses her hands as she talks.”

Despite their 22-year age difference, the two share an innate joy in life

and have the same outlook on life. They have fun, Eric said -- even on

their visits to the hospital. He makes her laugh on the otherwise

sobering trips, mischievously opening all the cabinets and poking around

after the doctor leaves the room.

The two met a couple years ago and after only five months, decided to get

married.

“I’ve had cancer twice before and told him about it,” Jodi said. “He was

totally understanding.”

The rare illness, however, foreshadowed the tests the couple would endure

over the months to come. Three months after they were engaged, Jodi’s

father was killed in a boating accident.

Two weeks later, her cancer resurfaced.

“Eric married me two weeks later,” she said.

Since then, the two have continued to battle the disease that doctors say

will take Jodi’s life within the year. Compounding this, both of their

mothers also became seriously ill.

Through it all, however, neither of them ever considered leaving.

“This has been the worst year of our lives, but also the best because we

have had each other to guide us through these tragedies,” Jodi wrote in

her Dunes essay. “The best is to know that together we can get through

anything life throws our way.”

Asked if he ever thought to choose an easier path, Eric dismissed the

idea.

“It’s very rare you meet that one person,” Eric said. “We intertwine.

We’re one.”

REMEMBERING WHAT’S IMPORTANT

The house that newlyweds Paul and Jill Miller bought in a little

community tucked away in South Orange County represented their future

together.

“It was very family-oriented,” Paul said. “Everything was new and so

pretty. We had it all. We were the perfect American couple.”

It was home and the couple set about making it their own.

In preparation of the birth of their first child, Jill spent hours --

paintbrush in hand -- decorating a brightly colored Disney-themed

nursery. Paul remembers her there in the room, sweeping her paint brush

to and fro, with a full belly.

Their child, a son, was born and a year later, the couple decided to add

to their family. Jill finally became pregnant again and the two looked

forward to their second child.

Despite a tradition of twin births in her family, Jill never thought

she’d have them. The couple went to the doctor and sure enough, he

discovered two heartbeats. He offered his congratulations and began to

leave.

But the technician noticed something and pulled the doctor back, pointing

to the monitor.

“My wife said she would’ve fallen down if she were standing up,” Paul

said, adding that they were immediately overcome with a feeling of shock,

fear and elation.

Months later, three girls were born.

This is when the couple’s perfect life began to unravel.

The cost of caring for their four children -- all still in diapers -- was

overwhelming. Formula and diapers alone cost $500 a month.

Still, without a second thought, Paul sold his collection of 1,000

records, his stereo, his car and everything they didn’t absolutely need.

“We held it together for such a long time,” he said. “We refinanced the

house, got rid of one of the cars, got rid of every bill -- but we were

bound and determined to keep the house.”

Finally, it became clear that they would have to sell their home. Even

so, the couple tried to salvage the touches that made it theirs.

Jill wanted to paint over the murals in her children’s rooms, but the

family that offered to buy the house said they wouldn’t take it without

the paintings.

The family of six eventually moved from Rancho Santa Margarita to a small

rental in Lakewood.

However, they’ve had no regrets.

“We hated losing what we had, but those are material things,” Paul said.

“God gave us triplets to give us patience. It’s made our relationship

stronger.”