Love at Second Sight – High School Romance Rekindled at Shepherds of Good Hope
When Marc first moved into Hope Living, one of Shepherds of Good Hope’s supportive housing residences, he didn’t expect to meet anyone he knew; let alone her.
In 2014, after living in the Ottawa Mission shelter for a year and a half, Marc was happy to be welcomed to his new home by Shepherds staff. For the first time in a long time, Marc had a place of his own.
He was settling into his new life, when he heard a voice he recognized.
“Are you Marc?”, she asked, hesitation evident in her voice.
It had been over thirty years since they last met. Time had changed how they looked, but not the youthful glimmer their eyes.
“Yes, it’s me,” said Marc.
In the time it takes to snap your fingers, these two former high school sweethearts whisked back in time to high school, where they were each other’s first love.
Marc and Joanne met in grade eleven science class at Highland Park High School in west-end Ottawa. It was the mid-1970’s, years before their school closed, eventually re-opening as Notre Dame High School.
“The first time I met her, I fell in love,” says Marc. “Sometimes I would skip class and take her to the restaurant at Westgate Shopping Centre.”
They dated during the last few years of high school; it was a happy, youthful time for both, until Marc tested their relationship when, as he says; “Looked at another woman.”
“She didn’t like it,” Marc says, recounting the story while sharing a conspiratorial grin with Joanne.
Their high school romance ended as Marc and Joanne embarked on their separate lives, neither of them knew the universe would one day bring them back together.
Joanne got married to her husband James who passed away young in his mid-fifties.
Marc pursued his career, mostly at the Ottawa International Airport, where he worked the first line of defence as an airport screener.
Bad knees from a career spent mostly on his feet, brought an early end to Marc’s working life.
“I ended up living at the Ottawa Mission for a year and a half,” he remembers.
Joanne was going through challenges of her own, when she was offered a space in Shepherds of Good Hope’s supportive housing program at Hope Living in 2005.
Nine years later in 2014, Marc moved into the same residence.
“I was sitting where the coke machine was, and she kept on looking at me” remembers Marc. “Then one day, she came in and asked; ‘Are you Marc from Highland Park?’”.
“Yes, it’s me,” he said. “And then Joanne started crying.” Marc says, reminiscing on the emotional moment when they were reunited.
Though the years between them vanished, their high school romance rekindled in an instant.
A Future Together
Marc and Joanne see each other every day now. Their life at Hope Living allows them to spend time together, making up for the years they spent apart.
When they’re together, Marc can barely keep his eyes off Joanne, as if it’s hard to believe the mysterious universe aligned their lives for this very moment.
Supportive housing at Shepherds of Good Hope is more than a place to stay. It offers people the opportunity to reclaim the life they once had, and to live in a community of peace, safety and new beginnings.
Marc and Joanne started their lives together in their high school community. Today, they are back together fulfilling dreams they once shared and planning a future together.
“We hope to be married one day,” says Marc, before leaning over to kiss Joanne, whispering “I love you.”
Read more about Marc and Joanne’s story in The Ottawa Citizen.
