Our Encore Story

After loving marriages of 30 and 50 years we both lost spouses to long and debilitating diseases. Separately, each of us thought we would be alone and continue to just live out our lives sitting and reflecting on the sweet memories we had with spouses we loved and cherished so dearly.

Marty trying to quell the loneliness he was feeling after his loss took a 10 day Caribbean cruise to contemplate his future without Gail. The cruise highlighted for him at a deeper level what life was shaping up to look like being all alone.

Doray bought a smaller home with a beautiful yard that had soothing desert vistas and tranquil sunsets. Her sole intention being that of sitting out in nature alone and reflecting on a loving and fulfilling life spent with her late husband. 

It wound up there was more to our story than we both had anticipated. 

After Doray’s husband Jimmy passed and Marty’s wife Gail passed- after being care givers for quite some time - somehow, for the very first time in years we both wound up on a random Sunday in November, on a pickle ball court, in the Boulders community where we both live.

A neighbor briefly introduced us while we were both quickly passing each other and switching courts. We wouldn’t have known it in that fleeting moment of introduction that our lives would completely be transformed into a love story that neither of us could have anticipated in our wildest dreams.

Later that afternoon Marty texted Doray to see if… a) she was spontaneous, and b) if she would like to go for a casual dinner that night at a local pizza place.

Yes! She’s spontaneous and yes, she loves pizza and here we both are!!!

We would come to find out that we have so very much in common. Obviously we both love pizza , but we learned on that first dinner that we had lived around the corner from each other for 18 years and never met or even saw each other in all of that time!! We even have dogs named Mandy and Brandy.

We would later learn that we both love to dance (yet only one of us knows how), we’ve come from very similar upbringings, and have led very similar lifestyles. We both love to travel, love our kids, their kids and our dogs. We love electric bike riding, pickle ball, exercising, taking beach walks, and kayaking. We love boat rides whether on Lake Oconee, Lake Garda, or the waters of Alaska, the Bahamas or Venice. And most of all, we especially love our waffle Sundays together.

This is the “Encore” part of our life and we are loving it!!

Finding each other doesn’t mean that we loved our spouses any less, quite the contrary. They were an integral part of teaching us what love and a good relationship feels like and we have just added to and further expanded on that wonderful foundation.

Our lives today are filled with love, adventure, joy and lots of fun.

We are thrilled that you can share this time with us and be part of this beautiful and miraculous love story.