They say young love does not last, but Karen and Dennis know that this is possible.

In the 1960s, way back in high school, Dennis Vinar was considered to be a small-town sports star. He was popular with the young girls in their town and he could easily choose any girl to be with.

Dennis only had his eyes on one silent girl who played the clarinet: Karen Lehmann.

Dennis and Karen had budding feelings for each other, but it was unlucky that the teen girl’s parents were not keen on having Dennis as part of their family someday.

“She was very special,” Dennis told WUSA9. “I was always late for football practice because I was walking Karen home. That was much more important, I thought.”

Karen, on the other hand, cannot deny the fact that she was very intrigued by who Dennis really was.

“It was a fascination probably,” said Karen of their romance. “I was intrigued with him because he was very popular.”

The young love between Dennis and Karen was not welcome, especially Karen’s father who was against their relationship.

When Karen got pregnant at 15, her family was not happy about it and they did not want her to have a future with Dennis.

The two were separated from each other and Karen was sent to a home for unwed mothers. She was hoping to still have a college degree at the time and was a follower of her family’s wishes. She gave birth to a child who was immediately put up for adoption.

Dennis was not one to easily give up. He loved Karen and wanted to marry her, so he proposed for the second time.

“He asked me again to marry him,” said Karen, “And I was all excited about it at first, until I went home to tell my parents, and they did not approve of that at all.”

After that, Dennis had to move away and eventually joined the army.

Karen left for college, and both of them lost touch with each other completely, because Karen’s father was keeping the letters sent by Dennis from reaching Karen.

“I went through hell to be with her,” Dennis recalled. “And I couldn’t.”

For the next 50 years, Karen and Dennis lived separate lives and married other people. They had families of their own, and no contact at all.

Karen thought that Dennis had forgotten her, but in reality, Dennis had always remembered her.

More than five decades had passed, but when Dennis had the chance to search for Karen, he did so in a heartbeat.

The now elderly man received an invitation on LinkedIn and tried to add connections by searching for people on the site. His first thought was to find Karen.

“I typed in ‘Karen Lehmann’ and there she was—the third person down,” said Dennis to WUSA9. “And I smacked my hands together and said, ‘That’s my lady!’”

And as fate had it, Dennis reached out to Karen. They spent three months messaging and calling each other and met later on.

Two days after meeting in person, both decided to finally tie the knot.

Dennis had been divorced for a very long time, while Karen was widowed. It was the perfect time for them to be together.

It may have taken 50 years, but all the waiting had been worth it.

“It’s hard to explain the feeling, it really is,” said Dennis of their reunion and marriage. “But it was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.”

Since they were back together, Dennis and Karen decided to find another missing part of their story: the child they put up for adoption.

Karen was hesitant at first, but Dennis convinced her into searching for their daughter.

“Finally when he said, ‘I found you now, and my life would be complete if we found our daughter,’ I said, ‘OK,’” Karen recalled. “That did it. (I said), ‘Let’s look for her.’”

The couple contacted the adoption agency and ended up reaching out to Jean Voxland, their daughter.

Now, the puzzle was complete.

Jean welcomed her biological parents into her life, the same way they welcomed her into theirs. Their reunion was one emotional day.

“I got warm all over and my heart started to pound and the tears just filled my eyes,” said Jean, remembering when she first met Dennis and Karen. “It was like, ‘I look like somebody!’ and I kind of felt like I belonged.”

Karen, on the other hand, can only call this a miracle.

Find out more about this incredible story by watching the couple’s interview on The Steve Harvey Show!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Steve TV Show, WUSA9, Facebook – Karen Lehmann Vinar