Retirement home darlings who found love through loss are tying the knot

Two London, Ont., retirement home lovebirds are proving it's never too late to fall in love.

Colin Oates, 95, and Suzanne Scott, 84, whose suites at Windermere on the Mount are adjacent to each other, bonded over shared interests and the loss of longtime spouses.

On Saturday, they'll tie the knot at the facility — the first such wedding in its 18-year history. The formal ceremony will be followed by a large, catered barbecue reception on the front lawn.

"This has got everybody talking, everybody's happy. They're living again," said Oates during a recent interview with CBC News. "They realize that [at] 95, you can live, which is what I'm doing."

Every resident and staff member is invited to the wedding, which could see upwards of 200 guests.

"Windermere is like a big family," said Scott, soon to be Scott-Oates. "We said it's either all or nothing, and neither of us wanted nothing."

The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. ET, with Scott wearing a blue dress and being walked down the aisle by one, or possibly all, of her three sons. 

"All want to walk me down the aisle, so I'll have one on each arm and the other one will most likely be pushing," she said, laughing.

Given Scott's Scottish lineage, bagpipers will usher the wedding party and parade guests to the reception. Members of the chapel's choir will also serenade guests with a Scottish ballad in Gaelic.

The ceremony will cap off an engagement that began in February 2023 after Oates got down on one knee and proposed during a bingo night.

"That is a big step to take for a man who's 95," Scott said.

Oates said: "I had to have two people get me off my one knee."

The pair met in 2021 after Oates, who came to Canada in 1951 from Australia, moved into the home. An assortment of his artwork, sitting in the hall, caught Scott's eye, leading her to approach Oates the next day to remark about the collection. 

Last year's proposal was the culmination of months of friendly courtship, which began in earnest after the death of Scott's husband of 64 years, Bill Scott, in 2022.

The Scotts had moved into the residence in early 2020. After a year, Bill's health declined, he developed Alzheimer's, and was in and out of the hospital for the last eight months of his life, Scott said.

During this time, Oates, who had become friendly with the couple, would ask Scott how Bill was doing.

"When Bill passed away… when he said, 'I know what you're going through,' I knew that was true because he'd lost his wife just before he had come here."

Oates arrived at Windermere on the Mount mourning the loss of his wife of 68 years, Margaret Joanne Oates, in August 2021.

Choking up, he said he would sit in his den "wanting to die." The pain was magnified the following March when one of the couple's three daughters succumbed to cancer.

"People would say, 'Why don't you join us for dinner?' and I wouldn't want to. I became reclusive."

A crossing of paths outside his apartment led to the widowed pair getting dinner, spending more time together, learning of their shared interests and Oates discovering he was in love.

It's going to be a good party. But the most important thing is everybody in here is now happy again. They're happy to be alive.- Colin Oates

During one of his morning wake-up calls to Scott, Oates inquired whether she would consider him as her husband — a question that led to a long pause.

"I thought, 'Oh God, I just stepped in it,'" Oates said.

Luckily, Oates said, Scott responded, "Oh my God, I thought you'd never ask me." (Scott remembers it slightly differently, saying she replied, "I think that could be arranged.")

The two have had their adjacent units joined with an added doorway connecting Oates's bedroom to Scott's walk-in closet. Scott will move in with Oates on Saturday, with her unit used for visiting guests.

Saturday's wedding party includes Oates's great-granddaughter and two of Scott's granddaughters as bridesmaids. 

The son-in-law of Oates's daughter, also named Suzanne, will be one of his best men. The couple had initially planned to wed in October, but moved the date so Suzanne, who is very ill, could attend.

The engaged pair say their pending nuptials and reception — which will include beef brisket, salad, cake and several dozen bottles of wine — have brightened the spirits of residents and staff at the retirement home. 

"It's going to be a good party. But the most important thing," Oates said, "is everybody in here is now happy again. They're happy to be alive."