they met at a hotel in reno, nevada, of all places. >> and he hardly knew a word of english and she hardly knew a word of french. >> and yet they hit it off. when it came time for him to leave, she said take me with you. >> so he did, all the way back to canada, to northern saskatchewan. and against all odds, said denis' sister, deanne, the wayward marriage of the preacher's daughter and illiterate dropout worked. >> what i really liked about them is they seemed to be more friends than lovers. the way they talked to each other, the way they behaved, you know, it almost didn't feel like husband and wife. >> and the kids? anybody could see how close they were. >> it wasn't just, how's anna, what's gab doing now, it was always anna and gab. >> as their friend lois cook could plainly see, denis was fiercely protective of all of them. >> i would trust him to do the right thing and keep me safe.