Butch was a believer in the notion that you can’t sit around and wait for good things to happen to you—you need to take action. The 70-year-old from Kansas wanted to meet someone again, after his first wife passed away. He’d heard horror stories about online dating, but his “can-do” outlook motivated him to try.
“I did a Google search and it turned up CatholicMatch,” he said. "I figured it was a good place to start. It would be as good or better than anything else.”
He then systematically worked the parameters on the CatholicMatch search tool. Butch started with a broad sweep, focusing only on essentials like core questions of faith. Slowly, but surely he narrowed it down to more personal preferences. By the time he was finished, one person stood out.
Ruby was a year younger, had also lost her spouse, and lived within reasonable driving distance, 125 miles away. “I liked that she had a farm background, came from a big family and that her brother was a priest,” Butch told CatholicMatch.
As Butch and Ruby got to know each other, he would also come to like how vibrant her faith was. She’s active in her church and attends daily Mass. “It ticked some people (in my family) when I said I wanted a strong Catholic,” Butch said, citing other marriages in his family that were inter-religious. But he knew what was most important to him, “and I don’t have time for a training program,” he added.
It was three months ago that Butch and Ruby connected online and they moved quickly to spending time together in person. Butch has a friend near where she lives, allowing him to easily make overnight arrangements for a weekend visit. Both of them know what they want and have a strong idea of where this relationship is going.
“We have a general understanding,” Butch said with regard to an impending engagement. They are giving the process time, to allow themselves to continue to get to know each other, but neither feels any sense of uncertainty regarding the fact that they’ve found the one.
Butch and Ruby have each lived out successful marriages. Now they’re set for Act Two and everything is off to a rousing start.
