Janice Rude and Prentiss Willson’s love story seemed like a fairy tale from the start. The pair met back in the 1960s, while both were attending Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. When they first locked eyes on campus, it was love at first sight, like something out of a romance novel! Rude and Willson quickly fell in love and, in the blink of an eye, became engaged and started planning their wedding.
It seemed like these two would receive the happily ever after ending they had always dreamed of. However, before they could wed, tragedy stuck and split the couple apart. For decades, the two didn’t talk. Then, nearly 50 years later, Janice Rude found something in her mother’s wallet that gave her hope that their paths could cross once again…
1. A Small Town Young Woman
Janice Rude grew up in a hard-working family in the wild west of Reno, Nevada. She recalls her father as a particularly tough guy, with plenty of street smarts. That didn’t make him a bad father, though. While he didn’t always comprehend Rude’s intellectual pursuits, he did the best he could to support his daughter in her desire to receive a proper education. He also taught her a valuable lesson: all the good things in life required hard work.
So, after graduating high school in the ’60s, Rude enrolled in Occidental College. There, she would work towards a bachelor’s degree in Biology. However, while signing up for science classes, Rude had no idea she’d end up meeting the love of her life. And that was only the first step of her incredible journey…
2. Love at First Sight
ADVERTISEMENT
During her time in college, Rude worked at the school’s cafeteria to help her father pay for her education. One day while on shift in 1962, the young man below came in to eat. Before long, the two of them locked eyes and felt an instant connection. However, both Rude and the boy were so innocent and reserved that they couldn’t even look at each other too long before blushing.
While Rude had no idea of who the young man was, she felt immediately drawn to him, as though fate brought the two of them together. While Rude didn’t know it yet, her life would soon change drastically…
3. Meet Prentiss Willson
ADVERTISEMENT
The young man Rude had spotted at the cafeteria was Prentiss Willson. Although they didn’t know it, the two could not have been more different. Unlike Rude, Willson came from an upscale family. Also, Willson’s parents had pushed him hard to get into college, while Rude’s had always given her the option to simply join the labor force.
When the two met in the cafeteria, Willson was studying law and had recently become the president of his fraternity, Kappa Sigma (seen above, Willson is seated on the left). For the young man, everything seemed to be going according to plan. Until he saw Janice Rude in the cafeteria, that is…
4. An Unexpected Encounter
ADVERTISEMENT
After their first, non-verbal meeting, Willson started returning to the cafeteria repeatedly, hoping to see Rude. Eventually, he realized that she often arrived early, mostly working morning shifts. Before too long, Willson had also started to wake up early, becoming one of the first people in the cafeteria, every single day. While he did genuinely enjoy the cafeteria’s coffee, he mostly did it so he could see Rude.
Of course, Rude could not help but notice the young man who seemed infatuated with her. After all, she liked him as well. As Rude worked, she could not help but cross eyes with the object of her affection. For them, it was love at first sight! Eventually, the two lovebirds began talking to each other…
5. Getting to Know Each Other
ADVERTISEMENT
As the days went on, so did Rude and Willson’s budding relationship. Soon enough, the two of them started making small talk. Slowly, “hello”s progressed into little chats at the register. While they hadn’t done anything more than speak for a few minutes, Willson knew Rude was the one for him, from the very beginning.
“I believe we were simply meant to be. I even remember the first time I laid eyes on Janice,” Willson said. As you might imagine, they both began to really cherish those short encounters in the cafeteria. In fact, so much so, that if Willson didn’t show up one day, Rude would worry something might be wrong with him!
6. Not Happening
ADVERTISEMENT
While it was clear that the pair felt attracted to one and other, Willson still believed that there wasn’t a chance that Rude would want to become more than friends. “I actually didn’t think I had a chance with her. She was a year ahead of me and just so beautiful,” he recalled.
However, what Willson didn’t know at the time was that Rude was also falling for him. When he started showing up, Rude began to look forward to going to work every morning, hoping to exchange a few sentences with the boy she liked. However, it seemed like neither one of them could gather up the courage to ask for the other’s name.
7. Learning Her Name
ADVERTISEMENT
Three-and-a-half weeks after they first laid eyes on each other, Willson finally learned the name of his crush: Janice Rude. It was a name that Willson would remember for the rest of his life.
Of course, the same day, Rude learned his name: Prentiss Willson, a name that she had actually heard before! You see, Rude knew the name from Willson’s recent promotion to the president of his fraternity, Kappa Sigma. At that time, Willson had even become something of a little celebrity on campus. However, while Rude knew Willson, she had no idea what fate had in store for them…
8. A Thanksgiving Dinner
ADVERTISEMENT
Every single year, in the week before Thanksgiving, Occidental College holds a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for all its students. Not only does it give students a chance to celebrate with their classmates, but it allows them to say lengthy goodbyes to their friends before returning home for the holiday break.
In 1962, Janice Rude could not wait to attend the Thanksgiving dinner. After all, she knew that her favorite person would be there, undoubtedly waiting in her line at the cafeteria. Maybe Willson would even ask to sit and eat with her during her break! Soon enough, Rude started her shift, excited as usual. However, something completely unexpected happened. You see, Willson never showed up!
9. Making a Bold Move
ADVERTISEMENT
Rude had daydreamed about her and Willson spending time together at the Thanksgiving dinner. So, when Rude realized that Willson would not come to the dinner, she felt determined to find out why! So, on her break, she found one of Willson’s friends that she had seen him with. The friend told her that Willson had already gone home early to spend more time with his family.
However, nothing would stop Rude from seeing Willson before she returned home for holiday break. So, in an incredibly brave and out-of-character move for her, Rude asked for Willson’s home address. When the friend gave it to her, she rushed off!
10. Just Go For It
ADVERTISEMENT
Without giving it too much thought, Janice Rude rushed into her car and set out to see her college crush. Believe it or not, the young woman did not even care that Willson lived some 160 miles away from Occidental College, in the town of Santa Maria. Nothing would stand in her way! For Rude, the distance was not a factor, not for what she felt sure was love.
The trip took Rude three long hours, but she found ways to entertain herself. For most of the ride, she hummed along to the radio, while daydreaming about how her meeting with Willson would go. However, despite her “preparation,” as she started walking towards his door, Rude felt frozen with fear!
11. A Knock on the Door
ADVERTISEMENT
Realizing that Willson might find her antics completely crazy, Rude froze on Willson’s doorstep. In a lightbulb moment, she understood that she could be labeled as the girl that drove for hours to talk with a boy she had never shared more than a few sentences with. Suddenly, dozens of questions poured into her mind: What about his family? His friends? Even worse, what if he wasn’t home, or already had a girlfriend?
Despite her pounding heart, Rude took the plunge and knocked on Willson’s door. She braced for heartbreak as the door opened, but then her heart skipped a beat! On the other side of the door was none other than her crush, Prentiss Willson. Of course, Willson felt stunned to see his own crush standing on his front porch!
12. Say Hi To The Willsons
ADVERTISEMENT
To Rude’s surprise, Willson felt incredibly excited than to see his cafeteria crush show up at his front door. In fact, just as Rude had knocked on his front door, Willson had been sitting down to enjoy one of his favorite books and thinking about how much he would miss their morning meetups at the cafeteria. What are the chances?!
Much to Janice Rude’s delight, Willson and his family warmly welcomed her into their household with open arms. Not only that, but they even invited her to join the family for their Thanksgiving dinner. It seemed like everything was going exactly according to plan. Unfortunately, things would not always go as smoothly as they did that evening…
13. Connecting With Them
ADVERTISEMENT
At dinner, the entire Willson family immediately connected with Rude. In fact, Willson even said that his mother was taken with her the instant they met, just as he had been. Meanwhile, Rude felt a wave of relief that her bold move didn’t end up in a total disaster. On the contrary, it seemed like she had made the right choice by showing up unannounced!
As you might imagine, that fateful dinner was a turning point in Rude and Willson’s relationship. However, they didn’t know it quite yet. After a lovely dinner, Rude said goodbye and headed back to campus. Willson returned after Thanksgiving break. That’s the moment when everything truly changed…
14. A Special Reunion
ADVERTISEMENT
As soon as Willson and Rude returned to campus from Thanksgiving break, everything about the nature of their relationship changed. No longer did the pair constrain themselves to a few sentences of chit-chat at the cafeteria register. Now, a romantic relationship had started to blossom.
Before long, Prentiss Willson and Janice Rude became inseparable, making up for lost time. Soon enough, all of their friends thought of the two as a couple of peas in a pod. Everyone felt sure that Rude and Willson would stay together forever. It seemed as though nothing could get between them. And, before long, Willson proved how much he loved Rude…
15. The Engagement
ADVERTISEMENT
Prentiss Willson felt convinced that he and Rude were meant to be together. So, just months after the two started dating, he boldly got down on one knee and asked Janice Rude to be his wife! While some of his friends could not believe Willson would ask someone to marry him after just a few months, but he knew it was the right thing to do.
It had taken the lovely couple weeks of meeting in the cafeteria before the two even uttered a simple “hello” to one another. Now, Willson was done with waiting. Of course, Rude said yes to the engagement! Little did they know their happiness would soon crumble before their eyes…
16. An Ultimatum
ADVERTISEMENT
As any recently-engaged young woman would, Rude quickly called her family. That’s when everything came crashing down. Her father could not believe that she intended to marry so young, especially not while she was at college. So, Rude’s father did everything he could to prevent this marriage from happening.
Horribly, Rude’s father gave his daughter an impossible ultimatum: break up with Prentiss Willson or, otherwise, he would stop paying her college tuition. In a matter of seconds, Rude’s life was crumbling down right before her eyes. With her job at the cafeteria, she made less than a fifth of what she needed to pay for college. Now, Rude found herself forced to choose between earning an education or the man she loved.
17. A Big Decision
ADVERTISEMENT
Janice Rude felt utterly stunned by her father’s decision to intervene in her relationship with Prentiss Willson. To make matters even worse, the couple’s engagement had already been announced in the local newspaper!
Ironically, the announcement ended with the words, “no date has been set for the wedding.” Initially, that had simply been the truth. Now, however, Rude looked at the words with a different meaning. They sounded like an ominous warning she had missed. On the one hand, Rude knew that she wouldn’t be able to complete her studies without her father’s help. On the other hand, she really wanted to spend the rest of her life with Willson. What could she possibly do?
18. Mother Does Not Agree
ADVERTISEMENT
Both Willson and Rude felt heartbroken over the fact that they needed to make such a life-changing, devastating decision. After all, Rude had worked her entire life to attend college. As such, her education was incredibly important to her, and she felt determined to get her degree. Now, it would cost her happiness as well.
To make matters worse, Rude and Willson felt they had no one to turn to. While their friends sympathized, there was little they could do to help. Willson’s mother told them to elope, but they felt that was too wrong to consider. Unbeknownst to them, though, Rude’s mother had started working on a plan to help the young couple. See, she didn’t agree with her husband’s decision to try and break up her daughter and Willson
19. Not Enough
ADVERTISEMENT
Without telling her husband, and in order to help her daughter, Rude’s mother took out a second mortgage on her house. She had hoped that the money would be enough to pay for the rest of her daughter’s tuition. That way, her daughter could go to school and still marry Willson, whom she clearly loved. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough…
Now, there was no way out. Rude needed to make the difficult decision of abandoning her dream degree and staying with the love of her life, or simply breaking up with Willson. Believe it or not, Rude chose the latter. Sadly, she broke off the engagement, ended her relationship with Willson, and focused on her degree.
20. Forcing Them Apart
ADVERTISEMENT
“My father forced us apart the following January by refusing to pay my tuition if I didn’t ‘stop seeing that boy,’” Rude lamented later. After breaking up with Willson, Rude went on to complete her degree in biology at Occidental College. However, she never forgot about Willson.
“Prentiss and I should have taken his mother’s advice at the time, which was to elope. [But] I became fearful that Prentiss would be attracted to smarter women if I didn’t get a college degree. He did not understand my angst, and so we went our separate ways,” she continued. The two mostly ignored each other for the rest of college, as the pain was too great. Before long, the two graduated and left Occidental, thinking they would never see one another again…
21. Years Fly By
ADVERTISEMENT
After the college, both Judice Rude and Prentiss Willson enjoyed happy, fulfilling lives. After he graduated from Occidental College, Willson went east to Harvard Law School, becoming a tax attorney. Eventually, he came back to California, to the Bay Area, where he became a successful and well-respected lawyer.
Meanwhile, after Rude complete her degree in Biology, she decided to return home to run the family business. You see, Rude’s family ran a very successful diving board company. In fact, it was so successful that she was inducted into the USA Diving Association Hall of Fame in Seattle. While they both did well for themselves, Rude and Willson never forgot about each other…
22. Life Goes On
ADVERTISEMENT
As the years went on, both Rude and Willson found and married other people. Occasionally, the two did cross paths at Occidental College alumni events. However, when they did run into each other, they simply acted as friends, since they were both married. In fact, their whirlwind engagement seemed like a strange dream from the past.
Before either of them realized it, almost 50 long years had passed since their relationship. By this point, both Rude and Willson were both divorced. However, it wasn’t until tragedy struck that the two thought about one another. You see, both their mothers passed away within months of each other. All of a sudden, they had had things in common once again. Then, Rude found something incredible in her mom’s purse…
23. Something In Her Mom’s Purse
ADVERTISEMENT
After her mother passed away, Rude needed to go through her things. While looking through her mom’s purse, Rude found something incredible: the announcement of her engagement to Willson, from all those years ago. Her mother had even laminated it! Believe it or not, Willson also found a copy while going through his mother’s things. They had both kept it!
“The mothers got it. The mothers simply knew, and I think we also knew,” Rude said later. With each other on their mind, Rude and Willson separately decided to reach out to one another. Maybe this was their chance to pick up their relationship right where they had left it…
24. Reunited
ADVERTISEMENT
After so many years and tears, Willson and Rude finally reached out to one another. It was actually Willson who contacted Rude first, just hours before she had planned on emailing him! Just like before, the two of them started talking timidly at first before quickly moving to talking all the time, telling each other the stories of their lives.
Before long, Willson worked up the courage to ask Rude on another date. This time around, he would not wait until she literally showed up on his doorstep! He asked her to meet him at a restaurant called Cliff House in San Francisco. Nervous but excited, Rude agreed, and the two of them planned their first date together in nearly 50 years…
25. A Second First Date
ADVERTISEMENT
Finally, on June 20, 2010, Prentiss Willson and Janice Rude went on their first date in nearly five decades. As the two of them drove to the Cliff House in San Fransisco, one question rang in both of their minds: would the spark still be there?
However, after Rude and Willson saw each other again, they realized that was a stupid question. The spark was there, as strong as ever, even after spending 47 years apart from one another. That night, the couple basically picked up right where they left off and started dating once again. And, just like the last time, Prentiss Willson and Janice Rude became engaged once again just months after they started dating!
26. Happening for Real
ADVERTISEMENT
As the couple learned from never setting a wedding date the first time around, Willson and Rude quickly set a date this time. And, with no parents to intervene, the wedding went off without a hitch! On August 19, 2012, Prentiss Willson and Janice Rude finally exchanged their wedding vows in a beautiful ceremony on the Occidental College campus, surrounded by fellow alumni.
“We lament every day that we missed being together,” Rude said in an interview with the Occidental College magazine. “That’s about 17,500 days – but who’s counting?” After all, there’s nothing like the longing of a half-century to make a couple genuinely appreciate every moment they have together!
27. The Couple Today
ADVERTISEMENT
0 commentaires: