It’s a 50-year-old love story.
A Grants Pass couple met a long time ago in high school, but they went off in different directions.
After five decades, they recently tied the knot.
“It’s just kind of a little fairytale,” Mary Donahue said.
Reunited… and it feels so good.
“We just have not skipped a beat,” Mary said.
Tom and Mary Donahue started dating back in 1966.
It’s a story they love to tell.
“We went through high school and I was a year ahead – you’re missing the whole fun part – okay tell her,” Tom and Mary Donahue said back and forth.
They went to prom together and that’s when they started going steady.
“He was the first boy I ever kissed and I was the first girl he ever kissed,” Mary said.
Then they got engaged.
But they ran into a complication when Tom joined the Navy and was drafted into the Vietnam War.
“I said ‘we should wait until I get back to make sure I come back,'” Tom said.
And so they kept in touch throughout the years.
In fact, Mary got a visit from the FBI after sending Tom some vodka overseas.
“I didn’t know it was illegal!” Mary said.
But then when Tom came back from the war, he says he was a different person.
“I was really angry. I didn’t want any commitments with anybody and I wanted to get away from people,” Tom said.
So Tom and Mary parted ways.
“We just kinda lost track of each other for many, many, many years,” Tom said.
Fast forward to more than four decades later, Tom found Mary on Facebook.
“Wow… it’s… it’s her!” Tom recalled the first time he had seen Mary on Facebook.
He says he would have never recognized her if it weren’t for her high school photo as her profile picture.
The happy couple recently got married in December.
Now, they couldn’t be happier.
“I mean it’s just… it’s all we do is we crack up. That’s it, right?” Mary said.
“It is, it is,” Tom said.
“It’s just a riot,” Mary said.
“I look at her now and I really see what true love is and who I want to spend the rest of my life with,” Tom said.
Tom and Mary say they wouldn’t have done anything different as their life experiences have prepared each other to be together.
The Donahues say their mission is to enjoy everyday with a laugh and a smile.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.