Finding friendship, then love, 50 years later

Oct. 9, 2022, in North Wales, Pa.

They met at Alfredo’s in Lafayette Hill – the place where all the Plymouth Whitemarsh High School kids hung out in the summer of 1963.

She was 16, smart, studious, and the principal’s daughter.

He was 17, played football and basketball, ran track and field, and managed to keep his grades high enough to keep playing.

Walt asked for Carryl’s number. Neither remembers what movie they saw at the Ridge Pike Drive-In, but they remember what it felt like to laugh so hard and have so much fun. From then on, no one else at the high school had a chance with either of them.

After graduating, Carryl attended Gettysburg College and Walt went to Union College in Kentucky. They made plans that stretched far beyond their educations; the couple met with Carryl’s parents, who gave them their blessing to marry. But Carryl and Walt became immersed in college life in two separate states. There was little contact between them until Walt came home for Christmas break and drove to Gettysburg to pick up Carryl. It was decided that after they married, Carryl would transfer to Union, and she and Walt would live in married student housing. That planning made everything seem very real. “Maybe I got cold feet – I probably did,” Walt said. “I think that’s where things started to fall apart.”

Before Christmas break ended, their relationship did. Walt knew he wasn’t ready to get married. Carryl thought she was, “but looking back, breaking up was the best thing that could have happened,” she said.

For the next five decades, Walt, who is now 77, and Carryl, 75, only saw each other at class reunions, and then only to say hello.

By their five-year reunion, Carryl was happily married to Rogers, with whom she had two children, Paul and Stacey. Carryl had transferred to Temple University, earning a degree in elementary education. She worked for Elwyn, an agency that provides special education services to preschoolers with developmental delays, until she retired in 2020.

By their 10-year reunion, Walt had been briefly married and divorced and was enjoying a happy second marriage to Ann, with whom he had two children, Walt IV, who goes by Wally, and Jason. Walt had earned a business degree from Union and later, an MBA from Temple. He worked in property management for Unisys Corp. and JLL until retiring in 2010.

In 2015, Carryl and Walt both attended the Plymouth Whitemarsh Class of 1965′s 50th reunion alone. For the first time in a long time, they had a real conversation.

Carryl told Walt that her husband had died from heart problems 10 years earlier, on Christmas Eve. She got through it with support from family and friends. Walt said his wife was not feeling well, which is why she had stayed home, urging him to attend solo. And then they kept talking. “We really caught up on each other’s lives,” Walt said. It was like, “So, what have you been up to for the past 50 years?”

Soon after the reunion, Ann was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Walt sought the support of family and friends while caring for Ann. He began attending a monthly lunch gathering held by old friends from high school. Carryl was one of them.

“As people were leaving, he sat across from me, and we would talk about how Ann was doing,” Carryl said. “We had such a strong bond when we were younger, and it was easy for us to become good friends and fall right into deep conversations.”

Ann died in April 2019. Walt’s rekindled friendships helped with his grief. He found himself looking forward to laughing with Carryl over lunch every month, and in late summer of 2020, he wondered why they didn’t get together more often.

He found who he hoped was the right Carryl LaPrarie on Facebook, which led him to a phone number and voicemail. “This is a voice from your past – Walt List,” he said. “I don’t really know if this is your number or not, but if you get this message, give me a call.”

Carryl called later that day and they agreed to meet for happy hour at the Spring House Tavern – halfway between his home in Fort Washington and hers in North Wales.

“We laughed so much that there was this one lady in the bar who kept looking at us,” said Carryl. “We didn’t care – we just had the best time.”

“We decided to continue meeting, and each time, we got a little closer, a little closer, to the point where we thought, well, maybe we’ve got something going here,” said Walt.

There were movies, dinners out and cooked together, trips to vineyards, and Walt’s place near Camelback Mountain in the Poconos. They fell in love again.

“She’s a very, very warm and generous and loving person,” Walt said of Carryl. “She treats me well. She’s a very smart person – she’s very learned in the arts, which I’m not, and I find that very uplifting. She’s witty, and she’s very good with other people.”

Carryl said Walt is extraordinarily caring. She was recently sick and Walt insisted she rest while he did whatever needed doing. “He worries about me,” she said. “He’s extremely interested in what I do – if I’ve gone out to lunch with friends, he wants to know where we went, how I liked it, and what we talked about. He’s been very flexible as far as blending our families goes, so nobody’s family ever feels left out.”

That family now includes 10 grandchildren – eight on her side and two on his.

The two aren’t exactly alike. For one thing, he’s a Republican, and she’s a Democrat. For another, Walt remains very sports-minded. Carryl never really was, but she’s trying. “I am actively trying to learn about football,” she said. “When we watch games, I ask him a million questions. It makes it a lot of fun for both of us.”

Earlier this month, they traveled to New Jersey so Carryl could attend her first-ever professional football game, Eagles vs. Giants. The Eagles won, 48-22.

In December 2021, in their Fort Washington living room, Walt turned to Carryl. “You know what? We’ve been dating now for a year or so. I think we should get married.”

“Yes,” she said. “I think we should.”

Together, they went to a jeweler and had a ring made with a diamond that belonged to Carryl’s mother, plus some additional sapphires and diamonds.

The couple married late in the morning of Oct. 9 at the Joseph Ambler Inn. The outdoor ceremony was led by Journeys of the Heart’s Susan Hart. Carryl entered to “Perfect Symphony,” a duet by Ed Sheeran with Andrea Bocelli.

Walter’s 9-year-old grandson, Ryder, was his best man. His sons, Wally and Jason, and Carryl’s son, Paul, were ushers. Carryl’s daughter, Stacey, was her matron of honor. Stacey also read a tribute she wrote for the newlyweds during the ceremony. She spoke about what “home” means to people and at the end said that Walt and Carryl had come back home.

The couple recessed to “Get Me to the Church On Time” from My Fair Lady.

Then came all the fun stuff. “We had told people, ‘This is a party. We’ll end up married at the end, but this is just a huge celebration,’ ” Carryl said. “Our goal was to spend time with and honor the people who have been an important part of our lives, and Walt made a toast to all of them.”

Walt also let them know they didn’t have to worry about missing the Eagles game – it would be on at the on-site farmhouse they had rented for an afterparty.

The couple’s first dance was to “Stand by Me” by Mickey Gilley. The DJ treated the 100 guests to a 200-song playlist featuring music from the ‘40s through today.

The two chilled for a week at the Poconos house. Sometime this spring, they plan to cruise down the Mississippi River.

In 2023, they will continue renovations on their home and host many gatherings of family and friends. They also look forward to visiting Walt’s son and daughter-in-law in San Diego and Carryl’s son and his family in Virginia Beach.

Yesterday, Walt and Carryl hosted a Christmas Eve happy hour. Today, they celebrate Christmas with Walt’s family, having spent Thanksgiving with Carryl’s. Next year, they will alternate holidays.