As Texas reels from Hurricane Harvey and Florida prepares for Hurricane Irma to strike this weekend, a couple living thousands of kilometres away is coming to terms with their own strange connection to the storms.
Irma Schluter, 92, and her husband Harvey, 104, said they didn’t believe it when their daughter broke the news that they shared names with the pair of powerful hurricanes.
“She looked at me and said, ‘Mom, I’m telling you the truth,’” Irma told ABC News from the couple’s home in Spokane, Wash.
Irma said the odd coincidence bothers her, and she’s had a hard time watching news of the ongoing devastation.
“I don’t like that,” Irma said.
But the similarities between the Schluters and the storms end at their names. Irma and Harvey have dedicated their lives to helping others and have fostered more than 100 children throughout their marriage, on top of having three kids of their own.
With 75 years of marriage behind them, Irma and Harvey say the key to a successful relationship is simple.
“Each one has got to have love,” Harvey said.
Irma said she’s still smitten.
“I think he’s pretty special,” she said.
