Cupid's arrow hits the mark

SIKESTON -- Eloise Marsh and Ed Green are living proof you're never too old to fall in love.

On Jan. 20, the 81-year-olds tied the knot -- a pleasant surprise the twosome said they never expected.

But the couple's matchmaker, Karen Raffety of Wyatt, wasn't surprised at all. She knew all along the couple were meant for each other.

"It was like an inner voice spoke to me and said, 'Eloise is the one for Ed,'" Raffety said. "I just had this conviction. It was like it was supposed to be."

It all began about a year ago, when Green, an East Prairie native, moved from Michigan to Charleston, where his sister lives. Green happened to join the same exercise facility as Raffety.

Newlyweds Elois Marsh and Ed Green clasp hands as they thumb through their wedding album.

Newlyweds Elois Marsh and Ed Green clasp hands as they thumb through their wedding album.

"He kept telling me he wanted to meet someone. He was very serious about it, although he was always smiling and joking," Raffety said. Green recalled his and Raffety's first conversation about Marsh.

"She said, 'Ed, are you married? I've got a good friend in Sikeston I think you should meet. You two should get together,' and that's how we got acquainted," Green said.

Raffety had known Marsh for years; they were in the same weekly prayer group. So one day Raffety called her about meeting Green.

Marsh said she laughed when Raffety suggested she meet Green; she thought Raffety was teasing.

"She told me he exercises, is very slim and has a sparkle in his eye," Marsh recalled.

Marsh told Raffety she had to talk to her children first.

"I loved that because usually it's the kids who have to talk their parents before going on a date," Raffety said.

Marsh's children also thought it was hysterical when she called to ask their opinion, she said.

"One of my son's said, 'Are you asking me for permission?'" Marsh laughed. With her children's blessing, a date was set for after a prayer group meeting. After their two-hour meeting, Green followed Marsh home to make sure she'd made it OK. He asked for her phone number and called the next day. The two have been together ever since.

"It was just amazing to me the things they had in common instantly. It was just one thing right after another," Raffety said.

For example, Green's birthday is Oct. 29; Marsh's is Nov. 1. The two also remembered they were in the same trigonometry class at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau one summer in the 1950s.

Plus, they both have backgrounds in education. Marsh taught for 29 years in the Sikeston School District. Green taught in the East Prairie School District and later served as the head of graduate programs at University of Arkansas and Michigan State University.

And both Green and Marsh had been single for years before they met. He was divorced, and her husband died almost 10 years ago.

Around Thanksgiving, after dating for months, the couple discussed the idea of marriage.

"She said to me, 'If you want to love me, we'd better go see the preacher,'" Green joked.

Actually, the two said they're unsure who brought up the topic first.

"We knew we liked each other and were comfortable with each other -- but we thought that'd be silly to get married," Marsh said.

The couple soon changed their minds. With Valentine's Day in mind, they set a Feb. 17 wedding date, Marsh said.

Then, after Marsh suffered a heart attack in December, the couple came to a different realization.

"It was foolish to bide time," Marsh said.

The couple changed their wedding date to Jan. 20 and planned it in a week. The couple were married before immediate family members at First Christian Church in Charleston.

Today the couple are happier than ever and recommend marriage to anyone in a similar situation.

"If you're as compatible as we are, go for it," Marsh said.

Although Green said he was accepted unconditionally by Marsh's children and grandchildren, he said couples contemplating marriage should remember their children's feelings are very important.

"If your children are skeptical, sometimes it makes for a difficult situation," Green said.

Marsh said the couple's marriage has been such a positive experience in more ways than one.

"I didn't realize I was lonely because I was so busy, and when we met, I realized how much living I'd been missing," Marsh said.

The couple are even making plans to travel to Michigan and California to visit Green's family.

"We're just looking forward to taking one day at a time," Marsh said.

Perhaps Raffety, who could be deemed a real-life Cupid since her birthday is on Valentine's Day, summed up the couple's road to romance best.

"To me, this is a true love story," Raffety said. "It's just like Cupid's arrow -- it hit the mark."