Call it fate, coincidence or just plain luck, but Hugh and Eva Renner were meant to be together.
Although 10 years apart in age, they both were born in Illinois, the two have had heart surgery, each were living in mobile homes, both of them in Florida, when they met and from there, their love for each other blossomed -- over a period of less than two months -- after he received a dance invitation from her at the senior center they shared.
And, what puts this Cinderella story over the top is that Hugh, at 83, and Eva, at 93, are newlyweds.
You can tell by the way the couple -- married Aug. 15, 2004 -- looks at each other, holds hands together and kisses each other, still, in a passionate way.
"Only the Lord could have fashioned Eva and I getting together," Hugh said. "Because no man could have arranged that."
Hugh, the more talkative one of the pair who can recall details of a story like they occurred yesterday, loves to tell the tale about how they met and how they became Valentines in the truest sense.
"We got married 53 days after we met," said the former 3M data processing technician of 33 years. "We were married at St. Philip Lutheran Church in Mount Dora, Fla., which is 26 miles north of Orlando."
But this modern-day love story doesn't stop there by a long shot.
"We were at the senior center and a lady said to Eva, since she needed someone to dance with, 'Try him,' " Hugh Renner remembered. "I was way on the other side of the room and she came over and asked, 'Will you dance with me?' So we danced and we had a half-hour conversation. On the second day, she was playing bingo and I asked, "Do you mind if I sit down and kibitz your bingo game?' and afterward we talked for a half-hour.
"On the third day, I asked her over to my home, it was a 10-by-35 mobile home in a senior mobile home park, and we ate together and before we were finished she made me an offer I couldn't refuse. After Day 3, we were committed."
This isn't the first marriage for either of the Renners.
Hugh was married once before for 60 years, but the relationship dissolved in August 2003 -- less than a year before he remarried -- when his wife, Clara, said she was leaving him following his heart surgery that took place in Portland, Ore.
Over a period of six decades, Hugh had four children, two boys and two girls, and now has three grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
Eva, on the other hand, was married twice. Her first marriage, which she can't remember how long it lasted, was to Joe Sorce and produced three children -- one boy and two girls, and 10 grandchildren.
Five of six grandchildren born to one of the girls, Josephine Connell, live in Southern Nevada -- three in Boulder City alone.
The others live in the cities of Las Vegas and Henderson, and the state of Michigan.
All six have first names that start with the letter "J" -- Jeff, Joey, Julie, Jackie, Johnny and Jamie -- in tribute to their mother.
As a matter of fact, it was the grandchildren, who, being concerned about their grandmother's health, convinced Hugh and Eva to pack their Sunshine State bags and head for another state with sunshine -- Nevada.
Eva's second marriage, to Mike Mammina, covered a decade. The couple had no children.
"I'm finding out this was a physical attraction," Hugh said, "which is more than what I had with the other one in 60 years."
So what attracted Eva to Hugh?
"He was just being nice," she said.
To this day, even though he shares an eternal bliss with Eva, Hugh still gets emotional when he talks about his former marriage to his high school sweetheart.
"There wasn't a day that would go by that we didn't have a serious conversation, but not in this marriage," Hugh said. "The only question I have now is 'Honey, will you please eat?' Eva is trying to lose weight."
At 5 feet, 4 inches tall and tipping the scales at a diminutive 134 pounds, Eva definitely does not need to be a Weight Watchers candidate or a South Beach fan.
So, the question remains as to what attracted him to her and why.
"The girl wanted me from Day One, actually Day 3," he said. "I haven't got a clue why I was appealing to her, but after three days she picked me. I want you to know what a feeling that is and it just goes on."
The luster of happiness after 18 months hasn't worn off, and by the sounds the two make, it probably never will.
"We've been on a honeymoon for more than a year here in Las Vegas and we haven't got pregnant yet," Hugh said with a newlywed's grin from ear-to-ear. "We're trying, but we haven't picked a school district yet. That's an old joke. I told you, this is a physical marriage."
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