True love never dies. This is true for a 78-year-old man who proposed to his high school crush after 63 long years. He surprised her with a ring and knelt in front of her at the airport. She said “Yes!” to his proposal, and now they will be spending the rest of their lives together.Dr. Thomas McMeekin, a dermatologist, and Nancy Gambell, both 78 years old, met when they were still teenagers in high school. Nancy was a high school cheerleader in Quincy, California, and had no idea that the sporty Thomas had a crush on her. They dated briefly while in college, but went their separate ways and had families of their own. At the time, they lived in different states.
In high school, Thomas played basketball, baseball, and football. Although he had a crush on Nancy, he never made a move to ask her out on a date since he assumed he was not good enough for her. “I didn’t date her in high school because she seemed unattainable to me. She often cheered me on at my games.”
After graduation, Thomas enrolled in Stanford University and studied for a Bachelor of Science degree while Nancy entered San Fransisco State University. They started dating while in college. However, after his second year, Thomas moved to Germany and married the woman he met on the plane sitting next to him. They had 2 lovely children and were married for 30 years.
Over the years, a mutual friend helped Thomas and Nancy keep in touch. However, it took another decade for their love story to flourish. Nancy, who graduated with a master’s degree in special education, helped organize a 60th high school reunion with Thomas’s friend, Jim Conway. She asked him several times if Thomas was going to attend the reunion and later texted him herself. It was her perfect excuse to reconnect after a decade.
“I didn’t see Nancy again until her 50th high school reunion. She was with her future husband, and I was with my wife, and we talked,” Thomas said.
Upon receiving her text message, he immediately responded and texted Nancy, “I’m coming.” Wasting no time, he booked a flight. For 3 weeks, they chatted, texted, and messaged each other. They were both married to different partners and were now single. It was the perfect opportunity to rekindle the flames of love. Thomas could not wait to see Nancy again, so he flew from his hometown in Tampa, Florida, to the West Coast to see her.
“When I finally met her, I just stood and watched, and I ‘gazed at her.’ We had a beautiful hug, I kissed her, and it was magical. I thought God was helping me. It felt so perfect, and I never doubted it. It was meant to be.” Thomas shared.
Dr. Thomas McMeekin fell in love with Nancy’s intelligence and discovered that they had so many things in common. He said, “I was re-establishing my roots in Quincy, and I thought, ‘I have to marry her.’ One time, I asked her, ‘You know, I can propose at the class reunion. Would you like that?’ She said, ‘No! A lot of people know us, and I would be embarrassed.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’ll surprise you.’”
When Thomas returned home, he began to plan on how to propose to Nancy. He turned to his medical assistant at work for help. “Go for it or go home. Propose to her as soon as she gets off the plane. We’ll be there to greet her after you propose. We all want to see this magical moment,” his assistant advised.
Thomas only invited 2 of his 8 employees but was surprised to see all of them at the airport. When Nancy arrived, she did not recognize any of them, and they hid behind the chairs. After Thomas and Nancy met, he waited for her to settle down and surprised her with a necklace with both their birthstones: a turquoise for her Sagittarius and four diamonds for his Aries.
Thomas showed her a jewelry box and said, “This is just a prologue.” He put a pillow on the ground next to her feet and knelt down. He began reading the proposal that he wrote in case he could not remember all the words he wanted to tell her. With tears in his eyes, he proposed to Nancy with these sweet words:
“My dearest Nancy, you’re everything I ever wanted in a partner, lover, and friend. I love you more than words can express and more than you can ever comprehend. I want to spend the rest of my life proving that to you and making you the happiest woman in the world. Will you, Nancy, give me the honor of being my soulmate in life, my partner in every sense of the word, that I can love in life forever? Marry me.”
Without hesitation, Nancy accepted. Thomas shouted with joy, “Oh, yes!”
With colleagues and many passengers at the airport, Thomas embraced Nancy as she said, “Yes!”
Nancy said, “It’s unbelievable, and we are so lucky to have found each other again. Staying in touch after high school was a great start to finally connecting where we were supposed to, which is Here and Now.”
The beautiful proposal video has instantly gone viral on the internet and has since aroused a huge response from netizens. The couple has received enthusiastic blessings from social media users all over the country.
“Friends I hadn’t seen in a while and even strangers were congratulating us,” Nancy revealed. “It’s so heartwarming that our story has touched so many people.”
The couple is planning an intimate family wedding under a pergola in Nancy Gambell’s backyard and will be officiated by the bride’s best friend. Since their reconnection, the elderly couple has sent a message to everyone that it is never too late to find true love and happiness.
“I can say, without hesitation, that she loves me as much as I love her,” Thomas said. “There’s no question that we have that chemistry.”