81-Year-Old Pays Tribute To Late Wife Through Newspaper Ads
LOS ANGELES (CBS2) — An 81-year-old man honors his dearly departed wife twice a year through love letters published in the Los Angeles Times.
Since 2002, Joe Ingber has delivered the handwritten notes to the Times' downtown office on his wife Eileen's birthday and the anniversary of her death.
"I think that I saw that writing a little bit of a memorial in the Times was a way of remembering," said Joe.
The Ingber's met when Eileen came into Joe's law firm after a minor car accident.
Joe said he liked Eileen right away, but had to wait until the case closed to ask her on a date.
"We fell in love instantly with each other," he said. "To me, she was the best a man was entitled to."
Joe said there were more ups than downs in the couple's "ideal" 40 year marriage.
"She was just one of a kind. I'm sure every once (in a while) we would argue over silly things, but we always ended up resolving things. Hey, that's just part of life," he said.
Unfortunately, the Ingber's love story was cut short when Eileen died of ovarian cancer at 68.
Joe said it was difficult for him to write his wife's obituary.
"I could write a whole page and still not write enough. You don't want to leave something out because she gave us so much," he said.
The newspaper tributes, however, are a way for Joe and Eileen's beautiful love story to live on.
Some of Joe's letters simply read, "You will never, ever fade from our minds or hearts."
Others go the humorous route.
"Happy birthday, Ei. Let's go shopping at Loehmann's," Joe writes.
"I cannot say that I don't do it for me," said Joe. "But I certainly do it because it gives me a moment to reflect on how lucky I was."
