JOHNSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Judy Furtado and George Denicourt had something in common long before their eyes first met at the Johnston Senior Center in Rhode Island two years ago.
Both lost their spouses before turning 80 years old.
“My kids were afraid that I was becoming a hermit, so coming here put them as ease,” Furtado said. “They don’t nag me to get out anymore.”
Denicourt told NewsNation affiliate WPRI that his son encouraged him to get out of the house and go to the Johnston Senior Center.
It wasn’t long before Furtado walked in.
“I sat down at a table with my friends from church and George was there,” Furtado recalled. “That’s how we met.”
Furtado and Denicourt got to know each other over lunch, and the sparks started flying before the two even realized it.
“I walked out the door and she was walking out beside me. I said, ‘You want to walk together?’ She said ‘Let’s go,'” Denicourt said. “She walked in and we walked out together.”
Furtado, 80, and Denicourt, 82, have been going strong ever since.
“We needed each other,” Furtado said. “We were both lonesome and we both needed a friend.”
Denicourt said he absolutely treasures his relationship with Furtado, whom he fondly calls his “sweet pea.”
“She’s funny and she helps me out,” he said. “She does some things for me and I do stuff for her. I like being with her.”
Furtado described herself as being “a stick in the mud” before she met Denicourt, adding that he’s changed her life for the better.
“George is friendly,” Furtado said. “George is helpful, George is kind, and George puts up with me.”
“It’s been two years and he hasn’t gotten sick of me yet,” she continued. “He hasn’t run away or changed his phone number.”
Both Furtado and Denicourt told WPRI that finding love again was never on their radar.
“That was the furthest thing from my mind,” Furtado said. “I never thought about it, it was out of the question.”
Furtado said meeting Denicourt was a happy accident.
“I don’t know what happened. We just grew on each other,” she said. “We do just about everything together.”
Though the two live separately, Furtado and Denicourt spend most of their days together running errands, playing bocce, making puzzles and eating lunch.
Denicourt’s message to widows and widowers about falling in love again is simple.
“It’s fun having a companion,” he said. “It’s a good thing, and more people should do it.”