Former First Lady Judy O'Bannon, 78, to marry

Two years ago, mutual friends of former First Lady Judy O'Bannon and Donald Willsey hatched an idea.

They decided the two, both widowed and well beyond retirement age, would enjoy each other's company. So they fixed them up on a date.

Their lunch together went well. Quite well.

So well that next week they are going to marry, proving that love can be found at any age.

She's 78. He's 84. And they will wed on Nov. 29, surrounded by about 40 family members, at the historic O'Bannon farm in Harrison County.

Combined, they enjoyed 100 years of marriage to their first spouses. But they are looking forward to a new chapter.

"It's almost a miracle. We think of this as the uniting of our families," said O'Bannon, widow of Gov. Frank O'Bannon.

Willsey is equally thrilled to have a second chance at love.

"She's a beautiful young lady and a lot younger than I am," Willsey joked. "We look forward to each day."

The two hit it off from the start. O'Bannon enjoys Willsey's sense of humor, his thoughtfulness. He likes her charm and her active nature.

They enjoy traveling and have gone on overseas trips twice. They love to ride trains and have gone from coast to coast. They dance and sing together and explore local sites.

But both also speak fondly, and often, to each other of their first spouses. O'Bannon was married for 47 years to Frank O'Bannon. Willsey was married for 53 years to Virginia Ruth "Ginny" Willsey.

O'Bannon lost her husband — and the state lost its governor — when he suffered a stroke while in office and died five days later on Sept. 14, 2003.

Willsey retired from practicing law in Indianapolis when he was 60 to take care of his wife for 10 years, while she had cancer. She died three years ago.

"I was so lonesome after my wife passed away," said Willsey. "I'd watch the news and change the channel and watch the same news again. I was just bored."

O'Bannon, too, misses her husband. But she has been keeping busy taping "Communities Building Community," a series of public TV shows on WFYI (Channel 20), giving speeches and other charitable activities.

For the past 10 years, she also has written a bimonthly column for the Corydon Democrat, the newspaper she owns that has been in the O'Bannon family for more than 100 years.

After their first date, Willsey thought he'd better start discussing politics because that's what he thought O'Bannon would want. When they met the second time, he recalled, he told her he believed strongly in term limits for politicians. She cringed and her head went down on her plate.

"That's the last time I've brought up politics," said Willsey, who admitted to being "mostly" Republican but now sees more of the Democratic point of view. O'Bannon said Willsey did vote for her husband and he "thinks" like a Democrat.

"We've had our disagreements, but you don't let those things bother your relationship much," said Willsey, who practiced law for 35 years, specializing in personal injuries, estates and small businesses.

Over the last two years, they've spent a lot of time together. They traveled to China, Tibet, Italy, Germany and other countries.

"We both have curious minds," said O'Bannon. "We discuss, talk, read and analyze. We grandparent 20 some kids and house several of them in our homes."

At first, though, neither was really thinking about marrying again. He even told her he had no plans to marry, but he just wanted to do things with someone else.

That feeling changed.

"I found myself missing her when we were apart," he said. At first, he shook off the feeling, but one night he just decided to take the next step.

It was Oct. 26, his 84th birthday.

Popping the question was complicated by the fact that both have some trouble hearing. And on the fateful day, neither was wearing their hearing aids.

"We were watching television. I just leaned over and put my lips to her ears and whispered, 'Will you marry me?' I was whispering because I was afraid of the answer."

She couldn't hear him, so she said, "What did you say?"

He repeated his proposal. She said "yes." But he couldn't quite hear response, so she had to repeat it.

She told him she was thinking of asking him to marry her in the birthday card she was to give him.

They decided to fast-track their wedding, planning it for the day after Thanksgiving because their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were planning on gathering for the holiday at the O'Bannon country home anyway.

It will be a low-key, family affair. She'll wear a vintage white dress her mother made and wore at some family weddings.

"It fits as though a seamstress measured it for me — exactly like it would have fit my mother," she said.

Her ring, she added, is unorthodox. She purchased it for $18 at an antique mall. It has two garnet balls, symbolizing the uniting of their two families, O'Bannon said.

During the service, her children will make remarks about why they love Willsey, and his children will talk about their love for O'Bannon.

She has three children and six grandchildren. He has four children, 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. O'Bannon and Willsey said they all are pleased about the wedding.

"My children all love her and thank for for making me happy," said Willsey.

"It's a marriage to a person and her family," he said. "It's all kind of a romantic story."

Call Star reporter Barb Berggoetz at (317) 444-6294. Follow her on Twitter @barbberg.