Still in the game after all these years: Dating later in life

Published 3:00 pm Monday, February 15, 2010

Dating and meeting people can be a source of apprehension in any stage of life. Young people may think courting the opposite sex gets easier with age, but dating later in life presents issues such as meeting singles, finding activities and generally re-acclimating to a scene that a person may not have been a part of for years, especially if they were previously married.

“It’s always awkward when you meet someone new for the first time,” Byron Thompson, 64, of Bonney Lake said. Byron met his wife Diann, also 64, in 2008 after they were set up on a blind date by in-laws. “But it didn’t feel awkward with Diann, which is how I knew I wanted to marry her.”

The Thompsons met in August 2008 and married in October of the same year. They had both been married previously, with Diann being widowed and Byron divorced. The night they met, they had dinner and went to a casino. They went on a second date the day after they met.

The two had several things in common: they both had January birthdays, they were both left-handed and they had a funny way of finishing each other’s sentences.

Byron knew he wanted to marry Diann within two weeks of meeting.

These days, in addition to the old-fashioned way of meeting people, senior singles can make connections through the Internet. A multitude of dating sites are designed for seniors, such as SeniorFriendFinder.com or SeniorMatch.com.

Sherry Creson, 70, met Russ Bartel, 78, more than eight years ago through Love@AOL.com, which is no longer operating.

Unlike the Thompsons, Creson and Bartel built their relationship slowly through four years before making the decision to get hitched. Today, they’re still on their honeymoon, Creson said.

“I wasn’t looking for a long term relationship at first, I just wanted somebody to do activities with,” Creson said. “It wasn’t until years later that we decided to get married.”

“I decided I couldn’t let her go,” Bartel said.

Creson had already been divorced for 15 years, but Bartel had just recently lost his previous wife when they met. He was still going through the grieving process during their courtship, he said.

An important part of both the Thompsons’ and the Creson/Bartels’ courtship was shared interests. Both couples enjoy camping, fishing, looking at cars and traveling.

The Creson/Bartels took road trips in their camper once a year up until last year, when Creson’s heart health made continued travel a liability.

The couple now enjoys time visiting the Bonney Lake Senior Center or relaxing at home playing computer games. Bartel plants and tends dahlias in their yard.

Byron has also experienced some heart trouble lately, but the Thompsons still enjoy their usual activities and, more importantly, each other’s company.

“It’s great when you meet someone like him who you know right off the bat is a good match,” Diann said.