Love Note on Drywall Returned 51 Years Later to 92-Year-Old Man

— -- A 92-year-old widower’s love story came alive again when a stranger found and returned a love note his late wife had written to him on a piece of drywall 51 years ago.

The love note – which reads “Germaine loves Roy, Mars 1, 1965 xx" – was discovered by Rebecca Churan last month while she was renovating her Ontario, Canada, home.

“The drywall in the living room had been exposed for a few weeks and one morning a friend was on the couch and I saw it above my friend’s head,” Churan, 26, told ABC News. “I thought it was measurements but it was actually the love note.”

“It took me a few minutes to decode it,” she said of the note, written in French and English.

Churan took a photo of the note and, on a whim, posted it to her community’s Facebook page. She thought the note said “Ray” but people soon began messaging her to ask if it was in fact “Roy” because there was a local couple by the name of Roy and Germaine Langdon.

The Facebook post soon found its way to one of Roy and Germaine Langdon’s six children who confirmed with Churan that it was the handwriting of her mother, who passed away in 2006.

Churan said the Langdon’s daughter, Claudette Leblanc, told her that Langdon had “been lost” since the death of his wife. Churan and Leblanc then arranged a surprise for Langdon.

“Claudette said the whole family was going to be getting together on Easter Sunday and I offered to bring the note over before dinner so they could enjoy it all together,” Churan said. “She hadn’t told anyone so I walked into a house filled with 15 to 20 people who had no idea who I was.”

Once Leblanc identified Churan she presented the note to Langdon.

“At first he looked puzzled as to what it was and then he realized and got all teary-eyed,” Churan said. “You could just tell how much he loved and missed his wife.”

According to Churan, Langdon’s six children were not aware of the note so it had been a secret between the couple for all these years. The family lived in the home for around 15 years and Langdon now lives a few blocks away.

“It’s one of the most amazing things,” Churan said. “Something so small to me meant so much to him.”