Hello friends and family,

We are honored to share our story and how love can triumph over loss.

It was the middle of the summer of 2020, and Sunny began to reach out and embrace the world after coming out from under a shell of grief.

On Father's Day, she reached out to John to set up a beach date, and he declined, citing that his 3 kids had something planned for him. Soon thereafter, she made the trip down the Jersey Shore and John had organized a late Sunday afternoon of sun and sand, laying on towels along the iconic Asbury Park beach.

Things didn't go as planned.

The winds whipped up the sand, and it became a dark & stormy situation. Running for cover, they stood outside the "Wonder Bar" awning, keeping close to stay dry under the torrent. As it was the middle of the Pandemic, the restaurant had a limit to the number of guests, and Sunny and John waited almost an hour for seats to open up. Miraculously, the clouds did clear up, and they enjoyed a meal of burgers and wings on the picnic tables at sunset.

It was the first of many storms they weathered together. They soon discovered their common interests in science & technology, classical music, values about life & God, and overcoming setbacks. John's uncanny humor and quick wit delighted Sunny, aside from his encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible, and Sunny's "can-do" spirit and optimism gave John unbridled joy.

On 2.22.22, by the same beach where they first met, John proposed to Sunny and asked if he could take her to sail away through an adventure of a lifetime.

We are thrilled to have a second chance at life together, to love & cherish each other as we grow old.

We can't wait to share our future together, starting with a honeymoon to visit John's ancestors in County Donegal, in the northern most tip of Ireland, where we plan to visit the Dougherty Keep, and other castles. John has long been a fan of science fantasy, fairytales, and legends, and it will be a lifelong dream to visit Malin Head, a craggy rock made famous by Luke Skywalker in "The Last Jedi" Star Wars series. Indeed, good triumphs over darkness.. and we are so blessed!

Thank you for listening to our story, and we hope there will be more tales to come... our hearts are overjoyed.

With gratitude, John & Sunny