It was a beautiful start to Valentine’s Day for wife-and-husband bus drivers Lesley and Lyle LeGrande, who shared their Edmonton Transit love story with CBC Radio listeners on the special day.
“We were friends for about four or five months before we actually decided we were going to start dating,” Lyle recalled during the interview on Edmonton AM. “After we started dating I thought, ‘I know that I’m going to spend my life with this woman, I need to propose to her’.”
That got the wheels turning.
Onboard with proposal
Lyle and Lesley first met back in 2012 when she, as a passenger, got onto the bus he was driving (the #16 in Castle Downs, stop 6124) on her way to visit her grandmother. Lyle’s proposal scheme 13 months later was to ride the same route with her on a day off and pop the question at the very stop their paths crossed.
“He just kept saying we need to ride a bus,” Lesley laughed. “I wasn’t really prepared for it because when he did propose, it’s, like, I blacked out! Okay, I know what’s going on, but I’m going to say yes because I couldn’t really hear anything!”
From the family photo album, here’s Lyle’s ask:
And Lesley’s yes:
And the happy couple on the wedding day, yes, at the same stop.
Everyone loves a love story
The LeGrandes first told their transit love story publicly last year in a Transforming Edmonton blog post on Stuff A Bus.
“We didn’t think the reaction would be what it was,” said Lesley.
Their story was also featured on CTV Edmonton.
“The reaction really made us feel so proud that we’re giving so much positive energy, especially within the City of Edmonton, with Edmonton Transit and with Indigenous communities, as well,” Lesley said. “It just feels so good.”
“You have made my day!”
The couple keep the spark alive by playfully reminding each other of their love. It’s not uncommon for one to find a little note left behind on the operators’ running board at the start of a shift.
The little notes are reminders of a commitment to journey through life together, no matter what turns up on the road.
“When you understand marriage as a commitment and that it’s forever, no matter what comes your way, you’ll get through it,” said Lyle, before the radio interview ended and he headed out to start his shift.
Radio host Stacey Brotzel spoke for many listeners when she thanked the pair for dropping by to share their story, saying, “you have made my day!”
Listen to the whole interview here: Finding love on the No. 16
Editor’s note: the pic at the top of the post shows Lyle and Lesley LeGrande on CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM on Valentine’s Day 2023.