Craig — Imagine finding the woman you want to marry only to loose her.

That was the case for one Craig man and his grandfather — both had to wait for luck to bring them love.

Jim and Sara Walt will celebrate 63 years of marriage in November, but their love story could have ended very differently.

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As a nurse’s aide, Sara cared for Jim’s father, Michael, who used to tease the young nurse with wild stories about his “300-pound” son, Sara said.

Working late one day, a handsome man walked into the room. It was Jim visiting his father, Sara said.

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The couple was smitten.

“It was a weird feeling, hard to describe, but I just knew — that’s the woman I’m going to marry,” Jim said.

Jim asked Sara out and they dated for six months. She was 18 and he was 27.

“Jim gave me my diamond on Christmas,” Sara said. “But the differences in our ages caused distress in the family, so on Easter I gave his ring back to him.”

Jim told Sara if she ever changed her mind then she should let him know.

The men in the Walt family are used to waiting for love.

Jim’s grandfather, Joseph, fell in love in his native country of Poland with a woman named Josephine, but he was betrothed to her sister.

Joseph was told if he went to America and earned enough to pay for Josephine’s passage then they could marry. Joseph immigrated, worked hard and purchased Josephine’s passage.

She traveled with a friend to Italy where they were supposed to board a ship for America, but the ladies were distracted by the delights of a new country and literally missed the boat.

When the ship that was supposed to carry Josephine to America sank and everyone on board drowned, Joseph thought his she had died. He carried on with work in the steel mills of Gary, Indiana.

Meanwhile, Josephine actually traveled to American on another ship, but Joseph wasn’t there to greet the tardy woman.

Sometime later, Josephine found herself working as a housemaid in Gary. She was called down to serve late arriving steel workers, including Joseph.

Reunited, the happy couple was married and had 12 children including Jim’s father, Michael.

Like his grandfather, Jim stayed true.

After moving to Colorado and two years after she’d returned his ring, Sara would call Jim.

They rekindled their love. Jim relocated to Colorado, and in November 1954 he married Sara.

They had five children. They adopted 2 boys and 2 girls and had a son of their own, John who brought them to Craig in 2005.

The Walt men were lucky in love and for them — love was worth the wait.

Contact Sasha Nelson at 970-875-1794 or snelson@CraigDailyPress.com or follow her on Twitter @CDP_Education.