A love story cut short by World War II was set to finally have its happy ending on Sunday.
Betty Hove, of Coeur d'Alene in Idaho, was just 16 when she spotted Jack Grosch, who was 17, working in a California grocery store in the early 1940s.
A fan of his "dark curly hair and big brown eyes with eyelashes any girl would die for", she would visit the store three or four times a day, and Jack would walk her home.
"He was just so sweet. They just don't make them like him anymore," Ms Hove said.
But the blossoming romance seemed forever doomed when Mr Grosch enlisted in the Navy. He left her a picture but no contact details.
"All I had to go by was the news reel in the theatres standing there, watching and watching and watching," she said.
Ms Hove eventually moved on. She was married twice, had a daughter, and was recently widowed.
But then late last year a friend asked if there was anyone Ms Hove would like to search for online, the name "Jack Grosch" popped into her head and against all odds they found him in Georgia.
Ms Hove, now 85, sent Mr Grosche, now 87, a Christmas card.
He called her up on New Year's Day and they were due to meet again for the first time in 70 years on Sunday.
An excited Ms Hove told ABC News time had done nothing to diminish her feelings.
"I never got over this guy. He was always tucked away in a corner of my heart," Ms Hove said.
Front page
RSS Feed