Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 9, 1993 TAG: 9303090259
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHLEEN WILSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ABSENCE MADE HIS HEART GROW FONDER
It's been some 46 years since Bill Wingfield first went to the airport to meet Nancy Clarke's plane.He was 24, and she was barely 19, an English girl leaving her home to marry the American soldier she met at a dance during World War II.
"Nancy was absolutely the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen," said Bill, who at 70, still calls his 65-year-old wife "one darling girl."
Last Wednesday he sat in the Roanoke Regional Airport, his arms filled with red roses, his blue eyes glistening with tears and his heart overflowing with more than a half-century of memories.
This is an old-fashioned love story. There's no high drama. No star-crossed lovers. It's about regular, everyday people who meet, fall in love, get married and spend a lifetime together.
It's about what love was before "I just can't commit" and "I'm just not ready for a relationship" became as routine as "pass the butter" or "cash or charge?"
When the war ended, Bill wanted to marry Nancy right away. But her mother asked that they wait a year - to see if they still felt the same.
Bill spent that year working to earn enough money to bring Nancy to the United States.
At the airport last week, Bill shared photos and yellowed newspaper clippings of the wedding. Because of the distance, Nancy's family wasn't able to attend the ceremony.
In fact, recalled Bill, "I just never realized what a sacrifice it was" for Nancy's widowed mother to let her move to the States.
Over the years, Bertha Lloyd crossed the Atlantic 39 times to visit her daughter.
But in January, it was Nancy who made the trip back to England to care for her mother, now 92, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease. Nancy spent two months there until she found a nursing home for her.
Even after 46 years of marriage, Bill missed Nancy something fierce.
"My phone bill last month was $266," he said with a smile. "And that's not counting a two-hour conversation on Valentine's Day."
Though Nancy has made many trips to visit her mother over the years, this one was especially difficult. "I felt like it's the time she needed me the most, and I just couldn't help her," he said.
Bill wanted his wife to know he understood what she'd been going through. So he planned a very special homecoming.
The red roses with a banner spelling out "Welcome home, Nancy" in gold glitter, weren't the only surprise. He had two tiny gift-wrapped boxes in his pocket. One was her diamond engagement ring, newly remounted. The other was a diamond wedding band.
"And I'm taking her to Myrtle Beach for a whole week - and I'm not even taking my golf clubs," Bill said.
Tonya Akers, who works in customer service for the airport, got permission from the crew to hold Nancy on board until the other passengers had exited the plane.
It was pouring rain, and nothing was going to stop Bill from personally escorting Nancy inside, even if it was against regulations.
Once inside, Bill proudly introduced me to the woman he'd promised was every bit as beautiful at 65 as she was at 19.
And she was.
Their smiles were certainly as bright as they were on what Bill said was the happiest day of his life - their wedding day.
But one look at the blushing woman with the charming British accent and her beaming husband convinced you that the day they married couldn't possibly have been any happier than any other day these two have shared over the years.
It hasn't always been easy, the couple admit. Among the day-to-day problems that strain any marriage, Nancy and Bill had their hands full raising a daughter who's mentally retarded.
Still, a child is just about the most precious thing two people can give one another.
And that's why, 46 years after Mrs. Lloyd gave her blessing to their marriage, Bill plans to sit down and write his mother-in-law what he considers a long-overdue letter.
"I think it's about time I thank her," he said, as his eyes filled with tears. "I think it's about time I thank her for giving me Nancy."
Mingling THE PARTY LINE: If you'd like to invite Mingling columnist Kathleen Wilson to a party or social gathering, call her at 981-3434; when asked for the mailbox, dial MING (6464) and press the # key. Then leave a message as directed. Or write her in care of the Features Department, Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491.