This Toronto couple married 75 years 'know no life without each other'
'We couldn't ask for anything better than the life we've had,' says Janet, 93
Bill Challenger is still smitten by his wife of a remarkable 75 years.
Their long-lasting love story started at the assembly lines of the then-Neilson chocolate plant in Toronto's Little Portugal. They were mere teens.
"I had a car and at quitting time, I asked [Janet] if she wanted a ride home," Bill told CBC Toronto. "She said, 'Yes.' That's how we first got together."
Bill, now 94, used to drive away the boys that would try to woo Janet Challenger at the chocolate factory, earning himself the moniker "Red Tiger" — a nod to his red hair and assertiveness.
"She was a good looking girl. She was a pretty girl," Bill said. "Still is."
"Thank you," Janet said with a laugh.
"That's how you keep marriage going, right," Bill contended.
They certainly have kept going; nearly 76 years, to be exact. They wed in a modest ceremony in November 1941.
"We couldn't afford a big wedding," said Janet, who turns 93 on Valentine's Day.
"Just the two of us," Bill said of their wedding day.
"It all turned out pretty good, I think," Janet added.
Save a few wartime years, the two have hardly ever been apart.
After they wed, Bill served as a mechanic, tending to Hawker Hurricane aircraft in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.
"I didn't like it," Bill said of leaving Janet. "But it was wartime and these were the things we had to do and we just did them."
'Family was our biggest joy'
They are most proud of their big, tight-knit family.
Janet had eight sisters. Meanwhile, Bill was an only child.
"He liked when he came into my family, the interaction with all my family and friends," Janet said.
"He said he wanted the same thing when we got married and that is what we did."
Together, they raised seven children — two daughters and five sons — and have 13 grandchildren, as well as 10 great-grandchildren.
"Loving my wife and my children has been a real blessing," Bill said.
"We couldn't ask for anything better than the life we've had," Janet said. "Just being together with our family was our biggest joy of all and still is."
But together, Bill and Janet loved to dance — Janet more so.
"He wasn't very big on dancing but I was. He turned out to be a pretty good dancer."
"We have so many good times together."
'They know no life without each other'
Jim Challenger, the youngest of their seven children, now cares for Bill and Janet at his Scarborough home.
He said their love for family defines who they are and their relationship.
"They're still very committed to each other. They've been together so long that they know no life without each other."
"They really are comfortable with each other and very uncomfortable when they're away from each other."
Jim said the family feels fortunate to have witnessed their marriage and know of no other living couple in Toronto who have hit the 75-year milestone.
"When I see them together on the couch, watching TV in the evening, I think that's just as good as it gets."
