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Woman ties the knot after finding love – at 93!

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PHOTO: CATERS/WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA.
PHOTO: CATERS/WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA.

A great-grandmother who thought she’d die single has gotten married after meeting “the one” – at the age of 93.

Dorothy Williams, from Macomb, Michigan in the US, met Richard Rola (86) when he was invited to join her family for a polka-dancing session three years ago.

The two pensioners hit it off immediately, and Dorothy says she knew he was special within four months of their relationship.

After dating for a year and a half Dorothy confessed her feelings while on holiday with her family, telling Richard how special he was to her – and he decided to propose.

“I just couldn’t believe how much Dorothy and I matched each other on so many levels,” said Richard, a former IBM employee.

“When she let me know how she felt about me, it was like somebody had hit me with a sledgehammer. I knew right away what I was going to do. That was all I needed.”

Spurred on by the approval of her family, Richard decided to pop the question at a restaurant.

Prior to meeting Richard, Dorothy – who’d been a widow for more than two decades – thought she’d never find love again.

Her son, John, would be the one to rekindle romance in her life. He thought Richard was a “really nice guy” and might be a “nice friend” to his mother.

Dorothy, a former waitress, said she was shocked when Richard proposed.

“I never expected it. It felt wonderful. Just wonderful. I never thought this would happen to me.”

John said he was surprised to see the two getting on so well and couldn’t be happier that they fell in love.

“He seemed like a really nice guy. As we talked I found out we were both Polish.

“I told him my wife, Beth, and I, along with my mother, went polka-dancing in Marysville each week. I invited him to join us. He did.

“He and my mother hit it off right away. And, after a while, he asked my mother to marry him.”

When she walked down the aisle last month Dorothy donned a ribbon of flowers in her hair to suggest “blooming youth” in their beliefs, while Richard wore a white gentleman’s hat to symbolise a wish for a “lifetime of happiness and laughter”.

“Everyone just says that we were meant to be together and I think they were right. It was almost like we’re the same,” Richard said.

Dorothy offered hope and a word of advice to others who think they’ll never find love again: “There’s always a chance. Never give up.”

The couple, who now live together in Richard’s home, between them have 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

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