Lifelong penpals reflect on their seemingly unbreakable bondBy Nadia ArchaeologicBermudian Marlene Warren and Canadian Joanne McQuay were young girls living hundreds of miles apart when they formed a special pen pal relationship.Now 56 years later they describe themselves as “close, like sisters”, having supported each other through many of life’s major moments, including a wedding, the birth of a child and death of a parent.The women were recently together on Island for a reunion which coincidentally fell on the 45th anniversary of the day they met. “We didn’t realise it was the anniversary until Joanne got here and I looked [at the date] on the back of the picture,” Mrs Warren said.The former teacher said she was impressed with how long their relationship has lasted and “the fact that two young people from different worlds had connected all these years”.The friendship started when Mrs Warren stumbled on a list of names for people who wanted pen pals in a children’s magazine handed out at the Salvation Army’s Sunday School.“Joanne was one of three I wrote to and we continued writing to each other, whereas with the others there was a long lapse of time before they replied and they [eventually] just stopped writing,” she explained.For the most part they would just talk about simple things their families, hobbies and daily life. They were finally able to meet in person on October 11, 1965, when Mrs Warren was attending Ottawa’s Teacher’s College in Canada.“We met for the first time when I was 19 and that sort of solidified our relationship,” Mrs Warren explained. “I got to visit her family on one of my breaks and really had a good time meeting her relatives.“I think it felt like we already knew each other because by that time we had been corresponding for about nine years and knew a lot about each other and had exchanged pictures. I knew who I was looking for when she flew into Ottawa airport and that was our first meeting.”Since then they have met up on several occasions, including when Mrs Warren got married and shortly after the birth of her first daughter Tammy Trott in 1969.“We also met up in Vancouver for about three days [when] I was going on an Alaskan cruise with my husband. I have also been to Toronto a few times to see her family in Cambridge,” Mrs Warren said.One of the visits happened under difficult circumstances when Ms McQuay’s mother was in a hospice suffering from cancer, but it ultimately deepened their friendship.Ms McQuay said: “About three or four years ago when my mom wasn’t well, I went to spend two months with my family. When she passed Marlene was there during that time to spend four days here. It was so supportive and my whole family appreciated that gesture.”Mrs Warren said that incident was one of the most challenging times they have gone through together.“I just felt I had to be with her,” she added.The two women share a love for travelling and reading. “When we are together it just doesn’t seem like all the time has gone by. I think we have gotten along because we have similar interests,” Ms McQuay said.“Family is very important to both of us and our way of life seems to be very similar, the way we see things and look at things and our outlook on things are very similar.”They ladies joked that they even had a similar taste in clothing, after arriving to The Royal Gazette interview wearing a similar pink shade.The friendship has also opened up new opportunities for the duo. They were interviewed by Cambridge’s The Daily Reporter in 1966; and been able to see new parts of the world together.Ms McQuay admitted she had never even heard of Bermuda before talking to Mrs Warren.“I had also never been to a tropical climate before or an island so it was a whole knew world for me [when I visited the first time].“It opened things up and I have done some travelling ever since, though not as much as Bermudians do. I came back [to the Island] with a few friends and my mom came with my younger sister.”She described their relationship as “close like sisters”, but added: “[We are] perhaps closer because you have families who don’t have that relationship and we have a good appreciation of each other.”Both encourage young people to consider adopting a pen pal, with Ms McQuay saying: “I think it’s a wonderful way of getting to know about other areas and other people. That has always been an interest of mine.”Mrs Warren said it would also help young people to understand the value of writing and importance of building relationships with others.