My Parents Romance
My Dad fell in love with my Mom at first sight. His sister Tina, who was training as a nurse in Kingston Ontario, brought her friend Helen home for the weekend. John saw her descending the stairs in his parents home, and she was wearing a pink sweater that she had knitted herself. When he saw her, John thought to himself, "That is the girl I want to marry." So during her training, he got up the nerve to write her a letter saying, "To make a long story short, I love you and will you marry me? Can we start dating soon?" Their first date was Valentine's Day, and they were engaged a month later. Helen took John home to Alexander, Manitoba to meet her parents and for him to ask permission to marry their daughter. Henry Derksen took an instant dislike to John. He didn't want him to take away his daughter, and he definitely didn't like his wavy red hair. However, Helen ended up threatening to elope, and that solved the issue. They married a year later in 1951 ...