Pa. man receives grandparents' long lost love letter

HAVERTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- A man in Havertown, Pa. was surprised to receive a long-lost love letter that was mailed by his grandfather to his grandmother more than 70 years ago.

Eric Kenney got the letter from 1942 in the mail on Thursday.

It was dated November 7th from on board the USS Arogonne.

The letter began with: "My dearest darling, here I am writing to you again because I haven't anything else to do."

The letter was mailed from Missouri with a post-it note which read: "Hello, found this in an estate I purchased and thought you might want it back."

"It turned out to be a letter that my father had written to my mother before they were even married, when he was in the service," said Jim Kenney.

"It was like winning the lottery. You hear about letters like this but until you see something it just brings you back and reminds you of the love they had for each other for 64 years," said Eric Kenney.

"Totally surprised. Have no idea how they found this letter, but it was addressed to my mother and the house she was raised in," said Jim.

It appears the sender, who the Kenneys don't know, found the family's business after discovering the obituary for Jim Kenney Sr., who passed away less than a year ago.

The family says they can't thank the sender enough for getting them this letter.

Jim Sr. and Mary Kenney married on August 27, 1945 in Maryland - almost three years after the letter was originally mailed.

They eloped and were married for 64 years.

This letter is a piece of their history - a glimpse into the early love of a couple this family will always miss.