83-year-old Alberta newlyweds win STARS lottery

After her husband passed away, Olive Pitts never dreamed she would remarry.

But over the last few years, the 83-year-old has learned that you're never too old to win the lottery of love — and the real lottery.

A year ago, Pitts got hitched.

A week ago, she won the STARS Air Ambulance lottery.

She and her new husband, Peter, are now the owners of a show home in Sylvan Lake, Alta. valued at $900,000.

"I've never won anything really in my life and Peter the same too he's never won anything like that," said Olive.

They met on a bus

The chain of marvelous events all started on a bus trip from Alberta to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.

Olive made the first move.

"We were at the casino and playing the machines and I just sat next to him and started talking. [We] ended up exchanging numbers," she said.

At the time, the octogenarians lived in different places.

Peter was in Taber, a three-hour drive southeast of Calgary.

Olive had her feet firmly planted in Moose Jaw — a city she had called home since she was 16.

After about a year and a half of long-distance, Pitts crossed the Saskatchewan border to join her beloved in Alberta.

And on  April 11, 2015 — Olive Pitts became Olive Huvenaars.

"You don't know how many times I sat down with paper and pen to see if I could remember how to spell his last name properly."

'We've had a pretty good year'

While the newlyweds are thrilled about their big win, Olive has no plans to relocate from Taber to Sylvan Lake.

"I moved one time to Alberta from Saskatchewan and that was a big move. I can't do that again," she said. "It's much too big a house for two people, and two older people to do stairs? No. I don't think so."

She suspects they'll sell the home, but said they can't make a decision until they actually go and see it for the first time.

Either way, Olive is riding the high.

"We've had a pretty good year, I think."

With files the Calgary Eyeopener