It is said that absence makes the heart nostalgic. Bill Hassinger (90) and Joanne Brackan (92) also felt nostalgic as they reunited after 73 years.
Hassinger told Fox News Digital that Hassinger and Brackan first met on a school bus on the way to North Muskegon High School in Michigan.
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After becoming acquainted during their daily commute, Bracken, then a junior, began reserving a seat for Hassinger, a freshman.
“I was stealing the cradle,” she joked.
Bill Hassinger (left) and Joanne Bracchan (right) hadn’t seen each other in 73 years. In 2022, they reunited and rekindled their childhood love. (Linda Brackan)
The two eventually became close.
”[We] “We became more and more attracted to each other and the next year we became serious,” Brackan said.
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“And at the time, you called it ‘on track,'” she said.
Hassinger accompanied Brackan to his high school prom in 1949. (Linda Brackan)
Hassinger took her to her senior prom in 1949, before Brackan went to Michigan State to study secretarial studies.
“That first semester, I would go home sometimes on the weekends, but I would still go roller skating and things like that,” she continued.
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“But gradually, I met a young man who became my husband, and he was dating a young woman in high school. And we [she and Hassinger] We just went our separate ways. ”
They each started new lives with new significant others and never looked back.
Mr. Hassinger is two years younger than Mr. Brackan, but one day on the school bus, Mr. Hassinger could not stop approaching Mr. Brackan. (Linda Brackan)
Hassinger married a woman a year younger than him six months after the woman graduated from high school.
Three months after their marriage, he enlisted in the U.S. Army.
After completing his military service, Hassinger worked for the state police and moved around Michigan with his wife and family for nearly 30 years.
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He was married to his wife for 68 years until her death.
The couple had three children, two boys and a girl who died in infancy, Hassinger said.
After Brackan graduated from high school, she broke up with Hassinger and found love again two years after entering college. (Linda Brackan)
Brackan also found love and got married two years after starting college.
She started working while her husband finished his education.
“Later in life, I earned my degree from Eastern Michigan University in my 50s, because by that time all three of my children had earned college degrees, so I was left in the dust. I felt like that,” Brackan said.
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She and her husband had three children. The two were happily married until he died of a heart attack at the age of 57.
“I was a widow for a long time. [I had] “I’m not interested in dating or anything like that,” Brackan said.
“I don’t know how much time we have together, but we make the most of every day.”
Years passed, but Brackan and Hassinger didn’t think about each other until Brackan’s daughter, Linda Brackan, started researching her mother’s old classmates.
During his investigation, Mr. Brackan discovered that Mr. Hassinger lived just 130 miles away from her, and that his wife had died the year before.
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Her daughter encouraged her to write a letter. And a few days later, in the fall of 2022, she received a phone call from none other than her high school sweetheart.
Mr. Brackan asked his daughter, Linda Brackan, to help him find an old friend from high school. She did some research and found Hassinger and his address. (Linda Brackan)
The two talked for a while and Brackan asked if he had ever been to Muskegon, to which he replied, “I go sometimes.”
The two decided to meet. Even though it had been decades since they had been together, it felt like no years had passed.
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“I hadn’t heard from her in years, and I didn’t know anything about her situation. But she was still Joan to me, and I fell in love.” [her] I would do it again,” Hassinger said.
It may have been 73 years since Hassinger and Brackan last saw each other, but the couple said it was as if no time had passed at all. (Linda Brackan)
Ms Brackan said she was a little hesitant to enter into a new relationship as she had never thought of dating again, but after six weeks she was back.
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“If you feel the love for each other, just spend time together, because life is short. Now, at this age, we don’t know how much time we can spend together, but… We realize we’re just making the most of it,’ every day,” Brackan said.
No matter your age, you shouldn’t be afraid to be with the person you’re most compatible with, Brackan says. (Linda Brackan)
There is still 130 miles between the couple, so they meet every other weekend and sometimes during the week for special occasions like Valentine’s Day.
They love playing card games and completing puzzles together, but also spending quality time with their mutually supportive family.
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”[Linda Blakkan] I felt very welcomed into their family, as did her husband and children. And it’s still done that way. I feel very comfortable,” Hassinger said of the time he spent with Joanne Brackan, his daughter and other family members.
Linda Brackan never heard her mother talk about Hassinger, but now she welcomes him into her home and family as if she had known him for years.
Now 90 and 92 years old, Hassinger and Brackan have found love again, just as they did in high school. (Linda Brackan)
Joanne Bracchan says if you find someone you’re compatible with, no matter their age, don’t hesitate.
Just “good luck,” she said.
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