As the old adages goes, love is never too late – even if it takes 64 years.
New Jersey natives Joe Potenzano and Mary Elkind know that sentiment all too well.
“She was a nice-looking girl. She’s still a nice-looking girl, right?” said Potenzano, now groom-to-be, tells Eyewitness News. “That’s why I asked her to go out.”
That ask happened to come 64 years after the couple first met.
Their story begins at a wedding in 1959. Elkind was the maid of honor, while Potenzano was the best man. They dated briefly afterwards but eventually went their separate ways.
Potenzano went on to join the army, while Elkind lived out her dream as a ballerina at Radio City Music Hall.
It was an invitation to have coffee last fall that brought these two back together.
“I was sitting in my house one day, sitting in my sofa chair,” recalled Potenzano. “And I noticed there was nobody else I could call. Everybody was gone. And I began to feel that loneliness that only comes at 90 years old.”
At 93, the retired engineer is now getting married for the very first time. His bride to be, 83-year-old.
“I had a couple of friends that said to me, are you crazy? Why are you getting married, at this stage you’re getting married,” said Elkind.
“At my age, I wasn’t sure if I was gonna get shot down,” said Potenzano.
Now both families are gearing up for their wedding in October.
“I say this unashamedly. I fell in love with her and she told me she fell in love with me,” said Potenzano. “What else do you want.”
