A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
It's Friday, so time for StoryCorps. Today, we revisit an interview recorded in Florida 20 years ago.
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BOBBIE QUENNEVILLE: What would you say is your biggest accomplishment so far in life?
EARL QUENNEVILLE: Marrying you. It certainly made me the happiest.
B QUENNEVILLE: Me, too.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Earl and Bobbie Quenneville. Bobbie recently came back to StoryCorps to remember that conversation.
B QUENNEVILLE: The StoryCorps silver trailer had come down to the Tampa Bay region. I had to do a little bit of talking to convince Earl to be recorded.
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E QUENNEVILLE: And I remember the first time I saw you, you were running a restaurant. I stopped in for breakfast. And it really was love at first sight.
B QUENNEVILLE: You know, I fall in love with you every morning over again. I do. But we've got an age difference.
E QUENNEVILLE: Yeah.
B QUENNEVILLE: I'm just starting to notice it after almost 28 years.
E QUENNEVILLE: Yeah.
B QUENNEVILLE: When Earl and I found each other, I was 25, and he was 50. And age did not mean a thing. But in our interview, I needed to ask a question because deep in my heart, I needed to have the recorded answer.
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B QUENNEVILLE: If you should go before me, you got to give me some wisdom on how to survive without you.
E QUENNEVILLE: I just want you to be happy. Whatever you needed to do to be happy after I'm gone, then do it. If it means getting remarried, fine. If it means not getting married, fine, whatever makes you happy.
B QUENNEVILLE: But what if I can't be happy without you?
E QUENNEVILLE: You're just going to have to learn how, Kiddo, assuming that I go first.
B QUENNEVILLE: That's true.
E QUENNEVILLE: I plan on being around forever (laughter).
B QUENNEVILLE: Earl was diagnosed with cancer and passed away on July 9 of 2020. He was 92. I still, on occasion, will play that whole interview to hear his voice.
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E QUENNEVILLE: You know, I'm not really sure what's going to happen after we die. I know what I hope will happen.
B QUENNEVILLE: What's that?
E QUENNEVILLE: I hope that there is an afterlife and that we'll get together again. But if that isn't the case, then dying is not the most terrible thing. It's just the end of something. It's going to be a tiresome thing to live with for a while, because you're going to feel lonely. Don't park yourself in the house and mope. Eventually, it'll pass.
B QUENNEVILLE: I was lucky enough to where I had him for 42 years in my life. I was blessed. I still am. Our legacy together is an example of how you can have that kind of love, just endless love.
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B QUENNEVILLE: Let's end on a happy note. I love you.
E QUENNEVILLE: I love you, too.
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MARTÍNEZ: Bobbie and Earl Quenneville. Their interviews are archived at the Library of Congress. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
