When Beverley and Richard met during a Thanksgiving Dinner in the Fall of 2021 at a mutual friend’s home in Florida, their ease of connection was instant.
“She just fell for me,” Richard says with a coy grin. “She didn’t stand a chance.”
Richard’s charm was a draw, but their bond grew quickly over shared backgrounds — simple connections, like a mutual love of The Beatles and Frank Sinatra, and more profound ones: both had recently lost life partners after long marriages. They didn’t necessarily realize they were missing companionship until they met on that day of gratitude.
“There was something obviously missing in life,” Richard says. After his wife had passed away, he would spend time at his Lake Muskoka cottage and days on the golf course, but there was an emptiness there. He sensed it after meeting Beverley and a week later, he called and asked her out for a coffee. “We always go back to that Dunkin’ Donuts in Fort Myers every December 6th,” he points out, for that was their first true date.
Beverley says their relationship deepened quickly after she faced a health challenge and Richard graciously stepped in to offer support. Their connection felt natural and comfortable, and he proposed on New Year’s Eve 2024, aboard a cruise through the Panama Canal. They were married in the summer of 2025 at The Village of Tansley Woods, a month after they moved into their new home there.
They decided on The Village of Tansley Woods because it was halfway between Beverley’s home near Lake Erie and Richard’s condo in Toronto. It had also come highly recommended by friends, and they found it instantly comfortable when they first visited, though Richard admits it took him a little while to warm up to the idea of moving — he loved the vibrancy of life in the part of Toronto he called home.
“When I walked in the door… I thought, ‘I’m not ready for this,’” Richard says. “But then I came back the next time and it was full of activity… I really had a good feel about the place.”
They were “flabbergasted” by the attention they received when they mentioned wanting to have a small wedding ceremony in the Village after they moved in.
“The staff here were just outstanding… amazing,” Beverley says. “They decorated beautifully and put up a floral arch for us to walk through. They closed down The Ruby upstairs so we had our reception up there.”
Their wedding was a beautiful introduction to the community, and they’ve felt embraced ever since.
It’s hard not to be inspired by the sense of hope and optimism Beverley and Richard embody. They each chose to be open to the possibility of happiness in life after navigating the tumultuous waters of grief. Together, they show that new love later in life isn’t about replacing the past — it’s about stepping into life’s next chapter with openness, hope, and gratitude.
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