It was probably telling that Shirley Ashford and John Skillings would be a good match when after the deaths of their longtime spouses, neither sets of children were overly concerned about how their parents would fare as unwitting singles.
Each are independent souls who delight in life.
My purpose is to be of encouragement to others, John said. To smile and greet others, especially those who dont intend to be greeted because they dont feel worthy.
For Shirley, every day is filled with wonder. She is a bride married to amazement, as her favorite poet, Mary Oliver, writes.
THE TWO married on New Years Day.
It was a little soon, Shirley leaned over to whisper. But he insisted.
Her husband, Kendall, had passed away in early 2017. Johns wife, Jean, died in 2014.
John and Shirley had met more than 25 years ago when John, the Rev. Skillings, was pastor at First Presbyterian Church from 1991 to 1996. After that, the Skillingses retired to Springfield, Mo., where John served as an interim pastor for a dozen years.
Always a student, Shirley said she respected Johns insights to the Bible. Still does.
Id say we have a marriage of respect, she said.
But dont think that means boring. Theres plenty of laughter and sweethearts tossed about as well as serious conversations.
Thats what I love the most, she said. The talking. The sharing.
Each day the couple shares a time of reflection, using devotions by Henri Nouwen, Mary Oliver and Charles Spurgeon.
Spurgeons isnt really our type of theology, John said of the influential Baptist from the 19th Century, But the cover is so nice.
Bound in supple leather, I agreed. But then with John, you cant always take what he says at face value.
