This browser does not support the Video element.
Couple proves young love can last a lifetime
Kimberly Kuizon reports
BRADENTON, Fla. - Written in a letter are words that stood the test of time. Years later, Janna Kach reads what she wrote as a teenager. "I will think of you when we are apart. I always do wish that I could open my eyes and see you by my side. When we see each other again it will be beautiful," reads Kach.
Dated 1977.
Kach remembers it well.
"Kurt and I were high school sweethearts. We met at the age of 15 and 16," she said.
Janna Kach and Kurt Stokke were in high school in Washington State.
"We were crazy in crazy heartfelt love," said Kurt.
After Kurt graduated he entered the Navy.
He and Janna wrote letters every day, more than 300 to one another.
"These letters that we talked about that we shared. They were so beautiful. There was an innocence there. Just happiness. There’s no internet. No Facebook, just these sweet letters," said Janna.
The two became engaged, but their love would be tested.
"Distance started to kind of wear on us," said Janna.
Including concerns from their parents over the young age.
READ: Florida couple celebrates 63 years of marriage on Valentine's Day, shares advice
The pair broke off their engagement and went their separate ways.
"I told my father when I said goodbye to Kurt. I said, Dad, I’ll see him again someday. I was thinking maybe in our 80s or something. I don’t know why I said that to my father, but I think somewhere in my heart I knew I would see him again," said Janna.
Kurt ended up in Bradenton, married with a son.
Janna married and stayed in Washington State with her husband and three children.
42 years later, Janna and Kurt would go through heartache again.
Their spouses both died of cancer, months apart.
After a period of grieving, the two would be reconnected.
"We got through that hard time and some high school friends knew Kurt had lost his wife and I’d lost my husband and put us in touch with each other," said Janna.
What started with a phone call turned into texts and letters.
READ: Keeping pets safe on Valentine's Day
"It was just an instant remembrance. There was no hesitation," said Kurt.
Eventually, a face-to-face reconnection.
Now Kurt and Janna are picking up where they left off.
"Keep hope alive and it’s love wins. Love wins and it always does. To be full of gratitude and hope and love wins," said Janna.
Both are thankful for the love they had, the lives they built on their own and now the love they’re rekindling.
"It’s a gift from God," said Kurt.
A gift they cherish every single moment.