World's oldest newlyweds with combined age of 202 fell in love at retirement home
Marjorie Fiterman, 102, and Bernie Littman, 100, had already lived full lives.
But when their spouses passed and they moved into the same floor of a senior living facility in Philadelphia, USA, neither of them expected to find new love just a few doors down.
They tied the knot on 19 May after a nine-year relationship, making the pair the oldest couple to marry (aggregate age) with their combined ages of 202 years and 271 days.
Bernie hit it off immediately with Marjorie when they first met at a costume party on their floor, and the romance began shortly after – they had their first date on the same day one of his great-granddaughters was born.
Although they both could’ve crossed paths years prior when they attended the University of Pennsylvania at the same time, life seemingly has funny ways of making us wait.
They studied different degrees – Bernie becoming an engineer, Marjorie a teacher – and never met before that fateful day.
Barnie’s granddaughter Sarah Sicherman told the Jewish Chronicle the whole family was “thrilled” for the couple and that they were “so lucky to have found each other and be a support to each other, especially during the pandemic.”
Although the family assumed they’d choose to remain unmarried because of their ages, it was “certainly a surprise” to hear they wanted to take the next step.
But “with so much sadness and fear in the world,” said Sarah in a social media post, “it’s nice to be able to share something that brings people joy.”
"Today my 100-year-old grandfather married his 102-year-old girlfriend!” she said. “They both had 60-plus years of marriage to their first spouses and found love again at 100 years old!”
The pair bonded by sharing meals and participating in their retirement community’s productions. Bernie credits his long life and happiness to reading and staying up-to-date, and Marjorie credits hers to buttermilk.
“They both love each other’s humour and intellect,” Sarah told us, “they keep each other young.”
Although Marjorie has no children of her own, she has inherited two children, four grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren through this marriage
The ceremony was held at the same senior living facility where they first met, and four generations of Bernie’s family came to celebrate. Four witnesses held up the white stands of the chuppah (a canopy supported by four poles, traditional to Jewish weddings), and they smiled down at the pair as they were whisked in their wheelchairs to the ceremony.
Rabbi Adam Wohlberg officiated the wedding, and he told Fox News he didn’t want to deliver the usual advice he does to married couples. But Bernie and Marjorie had “eventually reached the point where being not just close friends – but husband and wife – felt like the right step to take.”
"Each of you has already amassed a lifetime of wisdom and experience, and your attitudes, feelings and opinions are pretty well formulated at this point," the Rabbi said in his speech.
"That’s not to suggest that you won’t continue to learn and develop as people. But I think it is safe to say each of you, what you know and understand about each other, is exactly what the future holds for you and your partner.
"And what you have determined you love about each other – well, those things are not about to change.”
Congratulations Marjorie and Bernie, and may you share many more happy memories together.