Coincidence? Fate? Divine intervention? Whatever the case, a Texas County couple who were married last weekend came together under extraordinary circumstances.
Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Gardiner “Bill” James and Bonnie Lavoie attended high school in the small town of Concordia in north-central Kansas. The two teens both worked at the local Strand Theater, with Bill working the projector and Bonnie selling tickets.
They became close and dated during their junior and senior years before graduating in 1951. But circumstances put a stop to the relationship.
Soon after her graduation, Bonnie’s parents moved to Wichita, and she was obligated to accompany them. Meanwhile, the Korean War was in high gear and 19-year-old Bill awaited his name being selected in the draft.
The pair had discussed marriage, but instead decided to part.
Bonnie married Gerald Flowers in 1952, and the couple had two children and raised them in Texas County on a farm at Bado, while both held jobs at Brown Shoe Company.
Bill’s military service took him to many locations around the world, including Germany, Vietnam and several spots in the United States. He married as well, and he and his wife, Peggy, also had two kids. He eventually retired in El Paso, Texas.
In September 2011, Bill and Bonnie both returned to Concordia to attend their classes’ 60th reunion. Neither knew the other would be there or that they were each once again single.
And having been apart for 60 years, there was no familiarity. In fact, they didn’t even recognize each other.
“On the second night, I saw him sign his name,” Bonnie said. “That’s when I knew who he was.”
Following the reunion, Bonnie returned to Bado and Bill to El Paso. But the former beaus had exchanged information and got reacquainted over the course of several phone conversations.
“Things began to seem very natural,” Bonnie said.
“Things re-sparked,” Bill said.
That spark rekindled a fire that was snuffed out long ago.
Bill James and Bonnie Flowers were married Saturday at the Bado Church, and now make their home in the small Ozarks community where Bonnie has resided for more than half a century.
“I think it was just meant to be,” Bonnie said.
The former boyfriend and girlfriend had each been to previous Concordia reunions, but not during the same year. That changed last fall, as did their lives.
“We had gone our separate ways,” Bill said. “Every once in a while something would happen that would make me think, ‘I wonder how Bonnie’s doing?’ But we hadn’t had any contact for all that time.
“It seems as though it was meant to happen the way it did.”
A reception will be held in honor of the marriage from 2-4 p.m. Sunday at the Houston First Baptist Church, where Bonnie is a participant in the XYZ group.