Love story that transcends death: Bay Area man sends lifetime of flowers to his forever Valentine

Tuesday, February 13, 2024
DANVILLE, Calif. (KGO) -- There's a sweet love story that continues to bloom every Valentine's Day. It's the story of an East Bay couple married for almost 50 years and now, even after one person died, the flowers keep coming.

This is the story of John and Diana.

"We were married 47 years, but we actually met in high school when we were 16 years old," said 77-year-old Diana Maver.

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They married and had three children and lived happily ever after, including decades spent in Danville, until John Maver passed away in Oct. 2017. But their love story continued four months later, on Valentine's Day 2018.

Daughter Marilee Heard shares, "Through whatever magic works in his world, it's set up so that every year a bouquet of flowers shows up on her doorstep from my dad. When these flowers arrive, you should see the smile that comes on her face. It's just incredible, the joy that washes over her. She's just knows, she knows he's there with her."

"Roses and lilies, white lilies. They represented our love for each other," Diana said.

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Heard added, "The same bouquet, the same card arrives. He set that up so it would happen every year - I'm assuming - for the rest of her life."

So 77-year-old Diane is again, looking forward to getting something from her forever Valentine in 2024.

What do we take away from this? Heard says it's that true love really does exist.

"Love can exist through life and through death. My dad, he is the ultimate romantic guy," Heard said.

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