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Cupid arrives at Canterbury Place: College sweethearts to wed after 60 years apart
This spring will hold new beginnings for two residents of Canterbury Place Assisted Living in Dyersburg.
College sweethearts Peggy Marie Pence Schuster and the Rev. Henry O. Freund will tie the knot over six decades after their first meeting. The two octogenarians will pledge their vows under the pavilion at Canterbury Place at 3 p.m., on Sunday, May 13.
"It took 60 years, but Cupid's arrow will finally find its mark on May 13," said Freund.
Freund and Schuster both attended Southwestern of Memphis - now known as Rhodes College - in the early 1950s. During 1950 and 1951, Freund said the couple often sat together in class and frequently dated, attending school functions together.
"Romance was in the air, but a long road lay ahead of these two young people," said Freund. "It was not the time for them to get together, and so, they went in different directions."
Peggy Pence graduated from Southwestern in 1952 and married Howard Schuster. The couple had three children.
Freund graduated from Southwestern in 1952 and entered the U.S. Army. While stationed at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Freund met and married a Texas girl. They also had three children.
After his discharge from the military, Freund entered Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and was ordained into the ministry. While attending a church meeting in Memphis in 2001, Freund learned that Schuster had been widowed.
Freund, who had also lost his wife, wrote his old college acquaintance to offer his sympathy. A decade later, Schuster gave Freund her email address and the couple corresponded for several months.
"It didn't take long for the spark that had survived for 60 years to burst into flames," said Freund, who made his way to Dyersburg. "Renewal took shape as Cupid's arrow zeroed in on the couple (and they) decided they would spend the remainder of their days as husband and wife."
Following a honeymoon trip, Mr. and Mrs. Freund will make their home in Dyersburg.