It’s never too late for love. And these two Texas seniors are making sure everyone knows, they “really did fall in love.”

It all started with a birthday party. Bernard Snyder’s 98th birthday party, to be exact. Just like with any date, Bernard invited the girl he had a crush on, 96-year-old Jo Cartwright. “I wanted her to be there,” he said.

The pair both live at the same retirement community, Westminster. While they had been friendly, it wasn’t until Bernard managed to whip up the courage to make his move. He even invited a few of her friends to his party, upping his odds that she might show up.

“I was very much aware at his birthday party that he kept staring at me,” Jo said, smiling. Bernard told his cousin that he had a crush on Jo, and was told he needed to do something a bit more than just invite her to a birthday party.

At left, Bernard Snyder in his World War II uniform; Jo Cartwright as a teenager. Photo courtesy of the family

“If you’re interested in this young woman,” Bernard said his cousin told him, “give her some flowers and some ice cream.” So, Bernard went and bought a bouquet of roses, as well as a container of chocolate ice cream and left them outside her door. Jo said she came home to the lovely flowers, and a melted tub of ice cream. Bernard showed up a bit later, wanting to make sure his gifts had been found.

I wondered who in the world would leave ice cream at the door,” Jo said, laughing.

Jo had been married for 67 years and moved into the community after her husband died in 2014. She said dating had never been on her radar. Bernard and his wife moved into the community in 2017. After a long illness, his wife died in 2023. The couple had been married for 73 years.

“I was lonely,” said Bernard, a World War II veteran. He had stopped eating in the main lounge and began staying in his room more.  Bernard said love wasn’t something he was thinking about – that is, until he spied Jo trying to eat a chicken dinner at a local restaurant. “I saw Jo looking at a big piece of chicken,” he said. “She didn’t know what to do with it; she needed someone to help her.”

“I had never seen anything like it in my life,” Jo explained, laughing. The piece of chicken, she said, was too large for her to handle. “I remember looking at that thing and thinking ‘How in the world do I start this?’” The rest, as they say, was history. After the party, the flowers and the ice cream, the couple had some dinner dates. At their age, taking things slowly seemed a bit silly.

“I enjoyed her as a dinner partner, and we seemed to be getting closer and closer,” Bernard said. “I never thought I’d fall in love with somebody again. When you’re married 73 years, you don’t think there’s anybody else out there that would be interested in you, and you’d be interested in them.” Admittedly, Jo said, it took a few weeks before she was truly smitten as well. The couple went for walks, as well as exercised in the gym together.

He is such a gentleman, for one thing. You don’t see that very much anymore,” Jo said.

The couple, who each have three children, brought them all together and said they had some news to share. “We felt like we needed to talk to them,” Jo said, especially since Bernard’s children had only lost their mother a year prior. After the shock wore off, the kids were overjoyed.

“I was extraordinarily excited,” said Donna Snyder, one of Snyder’s three daughters. “My dad had been the most devoted husband, and it had been a really rough end-of-life for my mother and for him, caring for her. … I couldn’t think of anything more beautiful than having a second love.”

Bernard Snyder and Jo Cartwright on their wedding day. Photo courtesy of Donna Snyder

The pair, who married soon after, went to the gravesites of their late spouses, bringing flowers from the wedding. It was Bernard’s way to honor them. And while they both are aware that life is short, they are grateful for the joy they have found with each other.

“I hope we get as much as five years. But I think we will enjoy each other as long as we have it,” Bernard said. “The basic crux of the whole story is that you can love again,” Jo said. “It’s wonderful to know that you can.”