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Pamela Moore (Power)
I am very excited to share the “Pam Moore and Sam Juliano Love Connection Story” with my AHS ’71 classmates. As I document our story here, I hope you will enjoy reading how it has played out…
Sam and I did not know each other during our Annandale years, even though we both attended Poe Intermediate and Annandale High School. In fact, we met for the first time at the 45th AHS reunion in Fairfax in 2016. It was a very brief encounter… Maryalice Conmy introduced me to Sam during the reunion dinner party as I was heading back to my table. Much later that evening, at the “after party” hosted by Fred Chandler, Sam and I had a longer conversation about our aging parents, as we had both dealt with mothers who suffered with dementia.
Somehow, during that “serious” discussion, we both experienced a very special moment that could not be forgotten. I call it magical.
“Magical” because for several years after our meeting in 2016, I could not get Sam out of my thoughts… and as I later found out, the feeling was mutual!
Shortly after the reunion, we became Facebook friends. Sam would write an occasional comment on one of my “travel” posts, and I would “like” a photo he posted, often from a visit with his mother at her assisted living center. Nothing more than that, until in 2019, Sam recorded an album of his singing, and I asked for a copy of his CD. I realized we had similar tastes in music, and I listened to his CD often. I wrote him a private Facebook message, thanking him for the CD, and he responded quickly.
Suddenly we were writing each other often. Even more suddenly, I was looking forward to his morning message. I told him he didn’t HAVE to write every day… but when one day he didn’t, I was, frankly, a little angry!
I lived in Alabama and Sam lived almost a thousand miles away in Texas. I was going through a divorce after a 40+ year marriage. Sam had been single for almost 20 years and was definitely a confirmed bachelor, as he never dated after his divorce. But our relationship progressed with lots of notes… then phone calls… and finally (gulp!) a visit to Austin in 2021… where Sam met me at the airport holding a dozen roses. We quickly realized we had so much in common. Sam has a way of making my heart race and making me simply at a loss for words. It was like being back in high school and experiencing the excitement of a new crush! Never mind that we were both approaching 70 years of age!
Once we spent time together in Austin, we both knew it was meant to be. So, just like Jed Clampett, I loaded up a truck and moved to Beverly… Hills, that is. Swimming pools and movie stars.
Well, actually, the Austin hill country, and instead of a swimming pool, Sam has a hot tub… and he used to act in dinner theater. So, we’re close, right?
Sam asked me to marry him on Christmas Day, 2022 (I said “yes”!). We had a small but beautiful sunset wedding on October 7, 2023.
Yes, it sounds like something out of a Hallmark movie, but the magical moments at the AHS Reunion in 2016 set in motion our life-changing story. Needless to say, I will always be thankful to our AHS reunion committee, and I am so happy to be a part of the AHS Class of ‘71. Our class definitely seems to have the Guinness World Record for reunion love connections! Let’s see who the next love connection will be… it’s my understanding some are in the making! ❤️
I hope you will enjoy some of our wedding photos. Sam and I grew up in the seventies and we got married at age seventy… it’s never too late!
PS. Maureen, we both appreciate your AHS reunion event planning skills. Looking forward to the next one!
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