July 2021 started as a normal month and Supreme Convention. Thelia originally was not planning to attend the 2021 Supreme Convention. It was a last minute decision based on discussions with her state leader.

Everyone was just beginning to come out of the worst parts of the COVID pandemic and we were very unsure about how safe it was to be in a crowd.

Walter went into this week already nervous because he was finally going to attain the last step in masonry. He was going for his 33rd degree. Thelia was nervous because this was her first time attending this National event and really had no idea what to expect.

No one expected how their attendance would set them up to meet someone that would forever change the course of their lives.

When they reflect on their first meeting and how he looked like an old man talking to a member of the youth department. We often laugh when thinking back at how young Thelia looked in their first photo and how old he looked with the gray beard and her being so much shorter than him.

They were two nervous people walking through the parking lot and then sitting on his truck. They talked about everything that had transpired in their lives. The conversation was easy but guarded, neither wanted to divulge too much.

They walked back to the building holding hands and then immediately dropped them for fear someone would see them. Were they ready for others to notice? Not yet!

The weeks and months continued where they talked daily, and multiple times within the day. They would talk for HOURS and it seemed like it was no time at all. Walter freely discuss his good and bad relationships and what he was no longer willing to accept. Thelia freely discussed the heartbreak of losing her husband and then the good and bad relationships she had and what she was not willing to accept.

They connected so well and the freedom of the conversations was more of an indication they were destined to be together.

In July 2022, they celebrated their one-year anniversary with a visit to the African American Museum reflecting on history, then continued with dinner and then an evening of love.

In December 2022, she was asked and said YES! The rest of history, and in April 2024 they will tie the knot and become one.

T&W