Linda was 51 and had never been married. Bill was five years older and was the middle of the annulment process from his previous marriage. Linda knew she was looking for someone to build a future with. Bill wasn’t sure what he wanted — only that he wanted to expand his circle of friends. From that foundation, they began to move toward each other.
One of the big values Linda came to see in CatholicMatch was that it allowed one to expand the circle of good people she was connecting with.
“Some of them I met and dated,” she said. “As always, some people were not a good match, but they were all good people…working through a faith-based site you have a much better chance of meeting good people.”
After three years on the site, one of those good people she met was Bill. They were both active and in good health, and he traveled from Kentucky to her hometown of St. Louis a few times after they’d spent time getting to know each other both online and by phone. They began to develop a close friendship.
Four years later Bill had retired and he suffered a severe stroke. Linda didn’t like the idea of him being by himself and persuaded him to come and stay with her and her mother while he recovered.
On Christmas 2009 he had another stroke. “This time I really thought he might die,” Linda told CatholicMatch. “It is odd how such a serious illness can make you understand…how much you love them.”
Bill’s recovery has been a true miracle and he shows no physical side effects from his ordeal. Linda worked with him on preventive measures for the future and they found a top-rate surgeon who did an operation that has helped his heart beat normally.
Linda and Bill’s story is truly one of a self-sacrificing love and an ever-present reminder that life and romance don’t always — or even usually — go like fairy tales. In the midst of Bill’s recovery he proposed to Linda and they were married last November.
The marriage had an added blessing: Linda’s son, fresh from serving his country in Iraq, had his own marriage, which had taken place outside the Church, con-validated right alongside his mother. “The whole thing was almost like someone from above was guiding everything,” Linda said.
The couple is grateful for CatholicMatch, for helping them find someone who shared each others values and enabling them to meet good people. It’s also important to remember that CatholicMatch is grateful for them. An online community is only as good as its members and Linda and Bill are truly special.
