(CNN)Raymond Heiber estimates he has told this story 100 times. He'll never get tired of telling people about the forces that brought him to his soul mate at 51. The story begins in 1969, when Raymond walked down the aisle with Helen Klinger for the first time. They were the ring bearer and flower girl in the wedding of Raymond's uncle, Ron, and Helen's oldest sister, Charlotte. Ray was about to turn 6, and Helen was 7. After the wedding, they remained childhood playmates, meeting up at family picnics and pool parties in the coal region of Pennsylvania where they lived. But by the time they were teenagers, their lives took different directions.
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Raymond Heiber and Helen Klinger first walked down the aisle in 1969
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Forty-five years later, they found their way back to each other
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@placeholder's wife died of lung cancer after 30 years of marriage, and Helen's marriage ended in divorce.