In the late 1940s, a young man biked 174 miles every two weeks to woo his beloved during the few years of courtship. The efforts paid off and the couple were married for 65 years.
Sadly, the pair passed away late last year but their love story lives on through their grandchildren, who commemorated the couple's romance with a charity bike ride following the same path that was taken so many years ago.
Ted Jewitt and Joyce Nuttall met on a blind date in the late 1940s when Joyce had been evacuated from her hometown of Salford, England. When she moved back to Salford, Ted decided he would visit her every two weeks to keep their relationship alive. The young man biked 174 miles roundtrip on the weekend visits, biking up on Fridays and returning home on Sundays.
But it was well worth it as they enjoyed a long, loving marriage and had three children and eight grandchildren. After Joyce passed away late last year, the family decided they would put together a charity bike ride that retraced Ted's route to raise money for the hospice where Joyce spent her final days.
“We chose the bike ride and my father wanted to take part himself and was going to do the last stretch, but sadly he didn’t live long enough to take part," the couple's daughter Carole Leech told The Mirror. The family think he died from a "broken heart." "He just could not live without mum."
The family was determined to finish the race and on Saturday, they completed the journey. A team of 16 riders, including some of the couple's grandchildren, completed the route and raised over $2,500 for St. Mary's Hospice in Ulverston, England, where the couple lived.
"What a fantastic day had by all," the couple's daughter, Carole Leech wrote on a Facebook post.
Well done team!
The Huffington Post reached out to the family for comment but had not heard back at the time of publication.
Also on The Huffington Post
