Nelson and Julie Rochefort-Wood: ‘hiking buddies for life’
SHEGUIANDAH—Playfulness, a love of winter and Christmas: three things that Nelson and Julie Rochefort-Wood discovered they shared four years ago when the couple met through a Little Current singles group Nelson started (and which this reporter wrote a promotional piece for at the time).
“The first time I tried it (the singles group), it didn’t work,” said Nelson, laughing. “Not a lot of people came out. I tried to organize it again a few months later on April 27, 2012 at the Little Current Legion. About a dozen ladies and four guys came out.”
“I was just trying to get people out who were single to meet new people,” Nelson explained of why he started the club.
“A neighbour told me about the singles night and was going as a favour for another friend and asked if I wanted to go,” said Julie. “I wasn’t looking for love. I just wanted to make some girlfriends. I had just moved to Manitoulin and didn’t know a lot of people.”
Julie might not have been looking for love, but when she entered the Legion that night that’s what she found, she just didn’t know it yet.
“Nelson was wearing this super awkward V-neck shirt that said ‘Mr. Lucky’ on it,” said Julie, “and I was wondering why he was staring at me.”
“I approached her and laid my cards on the table after a brief chat,” said Nelson. “I told her I had two kids, was separated and looking to meet new people.”
Julie said she was apprehensive about their age difference at first, as Nelson was 32 at the time and she was 25. She also wasn’t looking for a relationship and just wanted to settle in to her new home.
Julie had just moved to Manitoulin from southern Ontario to work as a dietitian for Noojmowin Teg. She grew up in Timmins, but had lived in London since she was 12-years-old.
Meanwhile, Nelson was a Haweater, born and raised on Manitoulin. The son of Dale and Kathy Wood of Sheguiandah, Nelson attended Manitoulin Secondary School before going away for school and eventually becoming a teacher. He returned to settle on Manitoulin, teaching in Wikwemikong since 2007.
“I came to the Island to find myself,” shared Julie. “I didn’t want a new relationship, but I was intrigued by Nelson.”
As for Nelson, he said that it was love at first sight.
“I knew,” he said of the night he met Julie. “I even remember what she was wearing. Something clicked and I knew she was the one.”
As Julie was leaving, Nelson told her to add him to Facebook.
“She did and I knew she was in to me too,” he said, looking at Julie smiling.
Julie, still determined to not enter into a relationship, committed to becoming friends with Nelson.
She had tried to take her dog Sparky to the Cup and Saucer, but after almost losing him in the woods when he caught a scent, she gave up, nervous and unfamiliar with the Island wilderness. The two became hiking buddies after Nelson said he would accompany her to the Cup and Saucer and show her other Island trails.
“Through a month of hiking we really learned a lot about each other,” said Julie. “I asked around about him and learned he had a good reputation too. He was just a really nice guy and we got along well.”
A few weeks later Julie and Nelson met for a picnic at Low Island. “I was freaking out,” said Julie, explaining that she was having mixed emotions about how she was feeling for Nelson and her desire to be on her own.
After a glass of wine at the most northern point of Low Island, just as the sun was setting, Julie gave in to her emotions.
“She kissed me,” Nelson said smiling. “Thank you Merlot! It was a beautiful night and there were even shooting stars.”
After that evening Julie agreed to be Nelson’s date to a family wedding. Seeing Nelson with his sons, and after meeting his friends and family, Julie was ready to officially commit.
“It wasn’t just one moment when I fell in love with Nelson, but seeing him with his kids—what a great dad he is, his playfulness, his passion for helping kids as a teacher, our shared love of winter, the outdoors and Christmas—we are both Christmas freaks,” explained Julie.
As their relationship grew, so did their love. “Through all of life’s stressors, he was still there,” said Julie, noting Nelson’s support and love for her. “We were there for each other whatever came our way.”
A year later the couple purchased their first home together on Town Line Road in Sheguiandah where Nelson grew up.
“It was just a really easy fit,” said Julie of their relationship. “Everyone got along. And his family is great. My family is down in London, but I’m not lonely because we have family here.”
On January 19, 2014, the couple headed out snowshoeing behind their home.
“I wanted to take her to the top of Orr Mountain and kept pushing her, but she was tired and getting hungry,” said Nelson. “We had looked at rings, and she knew it was coming, but I kept pushing it back to bug her. I really wanted to surprise her. I had called that morning and asked her dad’s permission.”
“We got up to a nice hill and as we were looking out at the view I asked her what she was thinking and she said ‘about getting married’,” he told The Expositor. “I let it go and we headed back home. I waited until she was the most miserable and when we stopped for a break and she looked away for a second, I got down on one knee. I actually fell over and then I asked her if she wanted to be my hiking buddy for life.”
“I squealed a lot,” said Julie.
“I could tell in her voice she was smiling the whole way back to the house,” added Nelson.
On September 27 that same year, Nelson and Julie were married at the Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre, surrounded by family and friends.
“It was horrible the weekend before, raining and the weekend after our wedding was cold, but our weekend was just beautiful,” Julie said. “We really lucked out.”
A special element of their wedding was the couple’s cake. The opted for an untraditional McCain’s Deep and Delicious.
“The cake had significance for both of us,” Julie explained. “When I was growing up my grandma said she made it, but when she died my dad bought it and we were all really creeped out. After we learned it was a grocery store cake, we fondly referred to it as ‘memere cake’.”
“For me, my mom always made our cakes when we were growing up, but once she was away for my birthday and my dad bought it,” said Nelson. “Also, the boys (Nelson’s two sons 13-year-old Quentis and 11-year-old Darwin) love it.”
“We bought all the available Deep and Delicious cakes on the Island,” said Julie, as they laughed. “It’s also started a new tradition for our family. Now we can have our ‘wedding cake’ whenever we want.”
Since being married the couple said nothing has changed too much. “I think that’s how it’s supposed to be,” said Nelson.
“I married my best friend and I love coming home knowing that I get to spend time with him and our family,” said Julie, adding that their family also includes their two ‘fur babies’ Sparky and Atlas.
