“I love you,” Art said to Peggy as he lay dying in his hospital bed. And then he raised his head to meet her descending lips. Those would be his last words, that would be his final kiss.
In 1963, Peggy was on vacation with her mother, Lily, in Canada. That was when she met Art. Four days later they were engaged. But she had to return to Northern Ireland. For eight months, almost the entire span of their engagement, their only communication was through letters. The last letter she sent was on April 14th, 1964, from Liverpool, just before boarding the first ship of the season to Montreal.
They would marry on June 6th, and remain together until Art’s passing in 2003. After nearly 40 years together the first thing Peggy said after Art died was, “I just didn’t think we’d have such little time together.”
While only a few of Art’s letters made it to Canada, Art saved all of Peggy’s. This is their collection.