They say you usually find love when you least expect it, and that is exactly what happened when two residents at Kruse Village met in water aerobics class. 82-year-old Laverne Sanders and 82-year-old Ray Sanders tied the knot just over a year ago, and they have a remarkably sweet love story to tell. They walk down the halls together at Kruse Village holding hands and they enjoy being together. To them, every day is Valentine’s Day.

“It is so wonderful to be in love again after all these years. I had been a widow for 10 years, and I was not looking for anyone,” said Laverne. “He joined the water aerobics class I was taking twice a week, and we would visit by the pool every day. We started dating, and I told him that I did not want to get married again. Then when he asked me, I told him that I had been waiting for him to ask. I couldn’t be happier!”

Laverne could not say yes without the blessing of her son who lives in College Station. The couple took Laverne’s son and his wife out to eat to ask permission, and they quickly got a yes.

“Our relationship is wonderful. We have no arguments, and we never say a cross word to one another,” said Ray. “We are so compatible that she almost finishes my sentences, and I finish hers. I was not really looking for love. It is wonderful to be a newlywed at 82.”

Both Laverne and Ray grew up in Texas. Ray spent 50 years of his adult life living in the Bryan/College Station area. The two credit their similar values and faith as characteristics that brought them together. When they decided to get married, they also had to pick who would move into whose residence at Kruse Village. They settled on Ray’s duplex because it was bigger. Now, the couple enjoys exercising, reading and spending time together.

“When you are young and you get married, it is a big adjustment,” said Laverne. “I was just as happy and excited to get married this time, but it is nice to not have the financial worries you have when you are younger living paycheck to paycheck. Plus, you are settled in your ways, and we accept each other for who we are instead of trying to change a characteristic.”

The staff at Kruse Village smile when they think about the sparks that started in the full service retirement community. The Sanders prove to all of them that it is never too late to find love.

“We are thrilled that two of our residents found love at Kruse Village,” said Coy Fontenot, executive director of Kruse Village. “It is so cute to see them together because they really act like newlyweds.”