When Howard and Verel Towell of Harper eloped 78 years ago, she was just 17.
Asked by the clerk if she was a legal 18, Verel considered and asserted that yes, she was.
It wasn’t really a fib, she recently told Nancy McNitt at Brookdale Senior Living in Ontario – she was just counting from a different starting point, the day of birth rather than her 1st birthday.
The couple’s elopement marked the beginning of a long and loving relationship that will be celebrated with a renewal of vows on April 1 at Brookdale. The festivities start at 7 p.m.
McNitt, the resident program coordinator at Brookdale, said she learned of the Towells’ story when she featured them for Valentine’s Day in the center’s newsletter. She thought it would be nice to give . . .
