According to TheKnot.com, 10 per cent of people meet their spouse at work. That’s just one out of 10. For Kaitlyn Sopta and Dan McKercher, Funeral Directors at York Cemetery and Funeral Centre, they are one of the lucky ones for whom the stars align.
Dan joined the York team in 2018 and Kaitlyn in 2020. They worked together for five months before they realized that they were more than just colleagues.
“We met during the pandemic so that was interesting,” said Kaitlyn. “We started texting about work and that would always lead us into something else. We realized that we liked the same TV shows and the same kind of news. We liked talking about that more than we liked talking about work.”
The funeral director duo dated for three years before taking the next step. On a trip to Italy in the summer of 2024, Dan proposed.
“People kept saying that if you’re in Florence, the one thing you have to do is climb this plateau and catch the sunset,” said Dan. “It was packed and people were having a great time – it wasn’t quite what I imagined. I saw a sign that said if you go down the steps, there’s a little rose garden. It seemed to be empty, so I suggested we go see these roses and that’s where I proposed.”
Kaitlyn had a hunch that something was up.
“When he said let’s go look at this rose garden, I said ‘deep breath’,” she recalled. “It was the only time he had this strap-on bag, so I thought he must be carrying something important!”
In September, they eloped in the Scottish Highlands and, according to Kaitlyn, it was breathtaking. Dan also found it spectacular.
“Standing there on the side of the mountain having your wedding ceremony is hard to top,” said Dan.
As event planners of sorts, they didn’t feel the need for a bells and whistles wedding, but they did have to brace their friends and families in advance.
“We had to ease everybody into it so that they knew there wasn’t going to be a wedding,” said Kaityln.
Now that they’re back at work, not much has changed except for Kaitlyn’s last name. Their schedules allow them to have half of their days off together. In the office, they sit at opposite ends from each other, while at home, they try to keep work at work.
“If you’re having a stressful day, we’ll open up outside of work – even if you had something that made you feel good or that you’re really proud of,” said Kaitlyn. “The nice thing is that we have a lot of shared interests, so we have a lot going on that’s not just our jobs.”
“It’s an understanding that if something is going to be brought up outside of work, it should be important and discussed, but not dwelled upon,” said Dan. “We try to focus on the positive.”
From quiet texts during the pandemic to a rose garden proposal in Florence and a breathtaking ceremony in the Scottish Highlands, Kaitlyn and Dan’s story proves that love can bloom anywhere – even in the most unexpected places. At York Cemetery and Funeral Centre, they’ve built not only careers, but a life together, grounded in shared values and a commitment to positivity.
