'Hi, Mr. Elevator Man': Chance Encounter Leads To Temple University Love Story
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When life opens a door, you never know who might walk through.
"She was a wonderful person — a very caring, giving person," said Eric Schlesinger.
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In September 1972, Eric Schlesinger, then a resident assistant at Temple University, was manning the elevator at Hardwick Hall as students moved in.
He doesn't remember helping Shari Rubin then, but just days later, the junior would approach him at a campus mixer.
That's a moment he would never forget.
"She said, 'Hi, Mr. Elevator Man,' and I turned around and saw an absolutely beautiful girl in front of me," he said.
Those four words let to a courtship, and the couple later married in December 1974.
They collected 42 years of memories together until Shari's passing last fall.
"There's a hole in my life and there always will be," he said.
In addition to making a donation to the university, he dedicated a plaque to his late wife outside of that same elevator.
Engraved right there on the wall is a testament to their chance encounter, their story, and their love.
"The rest, as they say, is history," said Schlesinger.
