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Sweethearts reunited after 51 years apart

"Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires," so said 16th century writer Francois de La Rochefoucauld.

Fifty-one years of absence had not extinguished the feelings felt between Sally Smith Campbell and Howell S. Payne. The two rekindled their romance and are to be married in the Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints in Dallas on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008.

The couple met at a church dance for singles in 1956 in the San Diego area. She was a sophomore at Chula Vista High School, and he was in school at the Naval Training Center at the San Diego Naval Station. The romance continued to blossom over the next two years while he was stationed on the USS Tulare, AKA 112.

Today, neither remembers the cause of their "falling out" at the time but he was transferred to another naval base and communications were lost.

Mr. Payne completed his naval service and entered Brigham Young University and later Arizona State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in business in 1967. He entered the field of banking and continued that career for 41 years. During his last year college, he married Glenda and during the next 41 years together they raised seven children and now have seven grandchildren.

Meanwhile, Sally had finished high school and began working as an accounting clerk. In 1984, she joined the accounting department for the San Diego Padres baseball team. She worked as a bookkeeper until retiring in 1994.

She married and had two children. After almost 37 years of marriage Sally and her husband divorced and she relocated in East Texas to be near her daughter. Sally found a place for a travel trailer on Lake Bob Sandlin in 2003. Two years later, she purchased a home in Mount Vernon.

About the same time she and Howell renewed acquaintances through a class reunion website. "We shared the same political views, jokes and lots of other things," Sally noted. "Our communication was intermittent though."

Sally became Glenda’s "Secret Pal" sending her little gifts, cards and handmade items from all over the country to lift her spirits during her illness. "It really made a difference in Glenda’s outlook," recalls Mr. Payne. However, Glenda passed away July 7, 2008.

"I was inspired to call Sally," Howell said. "We talked for several hours each night over the next 10 days."

Their first face to face meeting in more than 51 years took place Aug. 6 when he drove about 600 miles from Alabama to Texas. He spent the week at her son in law’s camper on Lake Bob Sandlin. By the end of his visit, they were planning the wedding. "By the way will you marry me," he quipped one evening. "In a heartbeat," was her answer.

Their honeymoon will be spent introducing one another to children and extended family at several cities across the country. "We’ve come full circle," they both agreed.