Ned and Eileen Ransom: Finding love at any age

I met Ned at church. His wife had passed away about 13 years earlier. He had six children, and many grands and greats. My husband had passed away six years earlier. I also had six children, many grands and a few greats.

I was the church-door greeter. He would sit on the back row with me during the meeting. We did that for several months, with just a little small talk. He liked to read, so I invited him to come by and pick out a few of my many books, which he did. Well, when Christmas 2018 rolled around, I was tired of spending Christmas Eve alone, so I invited him over for dinner. He showed me a board game he had made, and we played that most of the night. I was starting to see his sweet personality, and fun-loving sense of humor.

In a few days, he made hints by showing me wedding ring catalogs. But I was not interested in marriage, mainly because of his age and health issues. He was 83, and I was 71. As time went on, I really grew to love this funny man. We decided that we would get married, and accept whatever time the good Lord would give us on earth to spend together.

At our age, we didn’t waste any time on a long engagement. We planned the wedding about three days after my birthday, so we could surprise my children with the engagement news at a family dinner. We had already told some of Ned’s kids, but they didn’t believe us. My children knew nothing of Ned, so they were very surprised.

At our dinner, Ned proposed to me again in front of my children, asking them for my hand. That is not the end of the story or the night. After dinner, we invited them over to the house for dessert and to celebrate our engagement. Waiting for us there were some of Ned’s children as well as our bishop, who was invited for a simple job: to marry us that night. Engaged and married all in one night!

All of our children were a bit stunned, but it was great fun and they got over it. So today as I write this, Jan. 12, 2020, it is our one-year anniversary. I decided to celebrate by telling our love story to you.

Remember, you’re never too old for love.

– Eileen Ransom