After losing their previous spouses, neither Joe, 86, nor Evelyn, 87, had given much thought to online dating. Joe was married 56 years to his first wife, and 7 years to his second wife, both of whom passed away. But he still had more love to give.
Joe was looking for marriage again. Evelyn wasn't...
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I didn't believe in online dating,” Joe said. “I thought it was a waste of time.” Nevertheless, he decided to try CatholicMatch, hoping to find someone to marry. “With the Holy Spirit guiding me, it wasn't long before I recognized I had a winner.” When Joe saw Evelyn's profile, he liked everything about it. “I realized that I couldn't let her get away,” he said.
Evelyn had subscribed to CatholicMatch after seeing an ad in her church bulletin. She was simply looking for a companion to go on walks, play cards, and do other activities. “I wasn't looking for marriage,” she admitted.
But she liked Joe’s photo. “He had a nice smile and seemed easygoing,” Evelyn said. She also liked the fact that they’re both Irish, and that Joe is a prolific writer.
A month after meeting online, Joe drove 600 miles to meet Evelyn.
Though Joe lived in Sioux City, Iowa, 600 miles from Evelyn in Colorado, they started communicating online in May 2017. They decided to meet face to face a month later. It helped that Joe’s daughter, Julie, lived near Evelyn in Colorado Springs. “That was my base for courting and winning Evelyn's love,” Joe said.
When Joe first saw Evelyn in person, he was smitten. “She was as beautiful as I knew she was within,” he remembered. Even so, their first encounter did not go well.
Joe had driven the 600 miles to meet Evelyn, with his dog, Star, in tow. Unfortunately, no motels were available, so he arrived with no place to stay. Evelyn recruited her daughter, Beth, to find Joe a house with a room that would accept Joe and his dog.
“It was quite a distance from me, and I knew he would never find it by himself, so I had Joe follow me,” Evelyn remembered. “I was upset that he put me in that position to find him a place to stay.” Undaunted, Joe assured her if they could survive this, they could survive anything.
Evelyn still wasn't convinced she was interested romantically in Joe. But he was persistent.
After that rocky start, Joe and Evelyn had their first date the next day at the Black-eyed Pea restaurant. After the meal, they sat on a bench and talked for several hours at the outlet mall near the restaurant. When Evelyn’s daughter, Ann Marie, learned her mother was with Joe, she "happened" to stop by with her dog to meet him.
“I have to say, in the beginning, I was not interested in a romantic relationship with Joe,” Evelyn confessed. Evelyn had been married 7 years to her first husband, and 54 years to her second husband; both passed away. “After my second husband died the previous year, I said I never wanted to be a caregiver again.”
When Joe brought up marriage, it sparked heated arguments. Evelyn wasn’t ready and wanted to try dating others. This was hard for Joe.
“But because I wanted her to be happy, I had to accept that,” he said. Evelyn went on dates with two other men, but soon realized how much she liked Joe. “I didn't like ‘playing the field’ and quickly narrowed it down to Joe,” she said.
She was also worried about Joe's Parkinson's. But with the help of her priest, she saw that marriage was the ultimate gift to each other.
One more major obstacle stood in their way. “Evelyn was deeply concerned that because I have Parkinson's, her savings could be wiped out,” Joe revealed. They sought advice from Evelyn's priest, and decided that if they truly believed God brought them together, they had to trust Him for their future.
"Even though I would get angry at him for even mentioning the word marriage, he never gave up,” Evelyn said. “He said he knew we were meant for each other after he read my profile.” Joe said, “Since I believed that God had brought us together, giving up was never an option.”
On October 26, Joe asked Evelyn to marry him. She said yes, then quipped: “What took you so long?” Their wedding took place on Saint Patrick’s Day 2018 in Colorado.
“I look forward to every day, talking, laughing, playing word games, holding her hand, looking into her eyes,” Joe shared. “I thank God that he has given me such a wonderful gift.” He’s also grateful to CatholicMatch for bringing them together. “I never believed that anything like this could happen,” he said. “It’s a miracle.”
Evelyn is grateful too. “I eventually came to understand that marriage is the ultimate gift when two people love each other, as Joe and I do,” she said. “Joe has the most beautiful soul of anyone I have ever met. He is just the sweetest person you'd ever want to meet. I feel so blessed that he loves me.”
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