It’s never too late to get married, as evidenced by a couple who are both over one hundred years old.
According to Fox News, Marjorie Fiterman, 102, and Bernie Littman, 100, from Philadelphia, tied the knot on Sunday, May 19, at the senior care home where they first met nearly ten years ago.
Remarkably, the couple’s first date coincided with the birth of Littman’s great-granddaughter, noted by the family, who said the pair had met at a costume party at the assisted living facility.
Littman’s granddaughter, Sarah Sicherman, shared with Fox News that the family was “thrilled” to hear their grandfather had found a companion to share activities and time with. She added that they felt “so fortunate to have found each other” and that they “support” each other, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The family was initially surprised when Littman, who had been married to his first wife Bernice for 65 years, expressed his desire to remarry. They had assumed he would remain single for the rest of his days.
Rabbi Adam Wohlberg, who has followed the couple’s story, told Fox News that while they hadn’t initially planned to marry, they eventually felt that becoming husband and wife was the right step. During their ceremony, he chose to forgo his usual marriage advice, acknowledging that the couple had already “amassed a lifetime of wisdom and experience” and their perspectives were well-formed.
He remarked, “That is not to say you will not continue to learn and grow as individuals. However, I think it’s fair to say that what you know and understand about each other is precisely what your future holds.” He emphasized that the qualities they love about each other are unlikely to change.
Rabbi Wohlberg also mentioned telling Fiterman, who had previously been married to Morris until his passing in 1999, that when Bernie “appeared,” she recognized someone truly special had entered her life.
Interestingly, despite meeting and falling in love at the senior living home, Wohlberg speculated they might have crossed paths decades earlier as students at the University of Pennsylvania. However, pursuing different degrees, they likely didn’t know each other then.
He humorously suggested they might be featured on “the cover of the alumni magazine’s next edition.”
With a combined age of 202 years, the couple might have set a new Guinness World Record. Fox News reported that the previous record holders were Doreen and George Kirby of England, whose combined age was 194 years when they married on June 13, 2015.
Sicherman mentioned, “Our application is pending, but we believe it is the Guinness World Record for Oldest Aggregate Age Couple to Marry, by about eight years.”