Liz’s youngest daughter was going off to college, so Liz, whose former marriage was annulled, decided that after 17 years of being a single mother, it was now the right time to begin dating. Finding a Catholic gentleman was important to her, so the 50-year-old joined CatholicMatch in December of 2012.
She enjoyed participating in CatholicMatch’s online forums, but she hadn’t had much luck meeting Mr. Right. Her six-month membership was almost over and she was beginning to think that it just wasn’t the right time for her to meet someone. However, her prospects changed with one simple question posed to her by a member who was also from Illinois.
“It was May 2013, the
year the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, and I was posting about their successes during the season when John, also a Blackhawk fan and fellow poster, contacted me about the Hawks. His question: ‘So who do you want the Hawks to meet in the playoffs?’ didn't seem quite like the introduction from someone seeking a partner, but I answered, and that began a series of online messages and chats,” she says.
John, 51, was a widower who had been married for almost 25 years when his wife passed away two months shy of their anniversary, leaving behind John and their three college-aged sons. He knew that he could manage alone, but he also knew that he would be happier with the constant companionship that goes with having a wife.
“Friends suggested I try online dating, as one of them had met his future spouse through Match.com. I looked over the many sites available and found one that said it was for Catholics. I looked at it more closely and it seemed okay, but I wondered if there was anything better. I googled Catholic dating sites and up popped CatholicMatch. It seemed much more organized and I took the chance, joining in Nov 2012.”
John's Icebreaker Question Was a Simple Catalyst
Liz had noticed John’s profile before he contacted her, and she thought he looked interesting, but even so, she didn't message him. When John posed the question about the Hawks, it was an icebreaker for Liz, so she took John's profile quiz. “I learned we had nearly identical favorites. We also had children that were close in ages and had been involved in similar activities. We both had spent our entire lives, including college and graduate school in the Chicago area,” says the mother of two.
Liz also liked John's understated, calm personality and his good sense of humor, and she appreciated that he was always patient and supportive of her.
John says, “I was immediately attracted to Elizabeth's proud nature in talking about 'her'
Chicago teams, most notably the Blackhawks. I have always enjoyed Chicago sports of all kinds and was especially attentive to the hockey season that year. I was amazed that Liz took the time to message me once or twice a day and found that we had a lot in common through all the messaging.”
About three weeks after connecting on CatholicMatch, they met up at a local sports bar to watch one of the Hawks games. “The first good thing about our date is that the Hawks won the game that day. John told me much later that he took it as a good sign that when I left to use the ladies room during a break in the game, I left my sweater on the chair, so he knew I would be returning!”
Meeting Their Families
By mid-June, John was introduced to Liz’s family. They hadn’t planned on making introductions so soon, but meeting one another’s family happened naturally. He met her children, siblings and some nieces and nephews at a Brewers baseball game. “Talk about introduction by fire!” she exclaims.
Then, a week later Liz, met John’s sons casually one evening at his house and then the following week she met his entire family for a 4th of July celebration. Four of their five children also met for the first time that day. “Seeing how well we all got along gave us a sense that maybe we had found new partners in each other,” she recalls.
John Went the Extra Mile to Be with Liz
John had never sung in a choir before, but he joined Liz’s church choir because he wanted to spend more time with her. “Liz said that if I wanted to see her more, then I would need to join her church choir because Thursday was the night they practiced."
They fell in love over the course of seeing each other at choir practice and Sunday Masses. In March of 2014, John started to make plans to ask Liz to marry him. “Ring shopping took some time, and I wound up designing a ring with a jeweler. After final approval of the wax model by me, the store failed to send in the final order and I wound up having to postpone the original proposal date by a few weeks.”
On the 13th of July, they met up at Loyola University, where Liz went to college, for Mass and picnic. “After finishing our lunch and enjoying the views of Lake Michigan, at 13:13 on the clock [13 is John’s lucky number], he took out dessert, a package of Baci chocolates, which also held the engagement ring, and presented them to me with a simple, life-altering question: ‘Will you marry me?’ Of course, I said, ‘Yes!’ and then enlisted a passerby to take a photo of us. We then sent a group text to all of our children with the news,” she shares.
Nearly one year later, on July 18, 2015, they were married at St Patrick Church, in Lake Forest, surrounded by their children, family and close friends. The choir, to which John and Liz still belong, sang during the Mass. “John even sang the prelude songs with the choir!” Liz remembers.
Parting Advice
John and Liz advise members seeking spouses not to give up too easily. “Good things can happen at any time, even when you ask the simplest of questions to get the ball rolling with a potential date candidate!”
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