CA man who passed away prearranged flowers to be sent to his wife on every Valentine's Day forever

ByLeslie Brinkley KGO logo
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Forever Valentine: A Bay Area love story that transcends death
Danville man sends lifetime of flowers to his wife every Valentine's Day, even after his death.

DANVILLE, Calif. -- There's a sweet love story that continues to bloom every Valentine's Day. It's the story of Northern California couple John and Diana. They were married for almost 50 years, and even after John passed away, the flowers keep coming.

"We were married 47 years, but we actually met in high school when we were 16 years old," said 77-year-old Diana Maver.

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They married and had three children and were living their 'happily ever after,' until John Maver passed away in October 2017. But their love story continued four months later, on Valentine's Day 2018.

Daughter Marilee Heard shares: "Through whatever magic works in his world, it's set up so that every year a bouquet of flowers shows up on her doorstep from my dad. When these flowers arrive, you should see the smile that comes on her face. It's just incredible, the joy that washes over her. She's just knows, she knows he's there with her."

"Roses and lilies, white lilies. They represented our love for each other," Diana said.

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Sixty-three years since they first met in high school, Thomas McMeekin and Nancy Gambell have reconnected and are now engaged.

"The same bouquet, the same card arrives. He set that up so it would happen every year - I'm assuming - for the rest of her life," Heard added.

So 77-year-old Diane is again, looking forward to getting something from her forever Valentine in 2024.

What do we take away from this? Heard says it's that true love really does exist.

"Love can exist through life and through death. My dad, he is the ultimate romantic guy," Heard said.