In 1940, five-year-old Donald McCarthy had no particular interest in three-year-old Bernadine who lived four blocks away in Joliet, Illinois. "Bernie" was a classmate of Don's little sister, but Don wouldn't meet Bernie for another 65 years. And when they finally did meet, it would be in Arizona.

Today, Valley residents Don, 70, and Bernie, 68, look comfortable together, holding hands as they take in a jazz concert. Other couples sitting near them might assume the two have been together for at least 30 years. Actually, the newlyweds haven't even known each other for 30 months

Both were happily married for more than 30 years, and naturally widowed about six years ago. In 2003, after years of loneliness, Don and Bernie each set out to find companionship and love for a second time.

The two strangers both logged onto eHarmony.com.

Don and Bernie's story, from mouse-click to "I do," is growing increasingly common as seniors, living longer, fuller lives, give Internet dating a try.

Last spring, after numerous emails and phone calls, Don and Bernie ventured out on their first date. Now as the couple sits in the living room of their East Valley home, they hold hands and exchange glances of affection as they explain their early courtship.

"We had lunch at Mimi's," Bernie says.

"And she slammed the gate in my face," Don counters sarcastically.

"Accidentally," she shrugs.

"Went to a movie or two," he adds.

"Real exciting," Bernie rolls her eyes.

The two bicker and play, enamored as teenagers, confident as if they had spent their lives together. Their new love fills a loneliness each knew too well. It also sparks a youth-like infatuation with one other, with love and with life itself.

"Then we had a wonderful, beautiful dinner," Bernie says of their next date. "We danced. And I thought, 'This is it.'"

"I still wasn't sure at that point," Don interjects.

Don was still dating a certain "Marlene" at that time, and this is still a point of contention in the McCarthy household. "She's still mad at me because I had a date with this Marlene on Friday night," Don adds. Bernie nods in agreement. "The following night I took Bernie to the same movie I had seen with Marlene."

Once Don and Bernie decided on each other, the couple still faced their share of obstacles, namely the consent of their own children.

Role Reversal

"You're gonna do what?" Don remembers his children questioning. "At first the kids didn't take it very well when we were talking about marriage," says Don, who asked Bernie to marry him after only a few months of dating.

"The online dating, that was cool," Bernie says. "But when I started talking about maybe getting serious about this guy, then there was a question: 'Well, I've got to meet him first. We've got to approve.'"

Months before Don wooed Bernie (or Bernie wooed Don, depending on who you ask), Bernie's daughter Rani Green sat at dinner with her mother's previous boyfriend. Green, 36, was not impressed with the previous suitor.

Green could remember many boyfriends of whom her parents did not approve. Now she sat on the other side of the table, wanting nothing more than for her mom to be happy, but knowing this was not the man for the job.

Of course, that was all before eHarmony. At age 67, Bernie ended that one-year relationship and took a bold step into the world of electronic dating.

It took Bernie some getting used to, but she soon found matches who shared her goals, her values and her geographic location in the East Valley.

Eventually the system matched her with Donald McCarthy, a 70-year-old Mesa resident who shared her Catholic faith and her love for theater and jazz.

"When she met Don it was different. You could tell there was something different about them and about him," Bernie's daughter says.

Don's children required some coaxing as well. "My daughter was not happy about me dating," Don says, "but once she met Bernie that all changed."

Eventually Don and Bernie's grown children would help plan their opulent Catholic wedding. After a full-course sit-down reception for about 200 guests, Don and Bernie danced, kissed, smothered each other in cake and headed for Paris, Dublin and London, where they spent their honeymoon.

Years of Loneliness

Neither Don nor Bernie appears to be nearing the age of 70. One might wonder if their youth-like love affects their physical health and demeanor, but as comfortable as the couple is today, Don and Bernie's journey to meet each other was one of loneliness and fear.

After 39 years of marriage, Don lost his wife to diabetes complications in 2000. "I did nothing for about three years," he recalls.

"One night I was sitting in Fiji, having dinner with friends, three couples and me at the table, and I felt all alone, but with a whole group of people. So I came home and decided I was going to start dating," he said.

"That was summer 2003. It took me six, seven months to find you," he smiles, looking at Bernie.

Don and Bernie hold hands as they exchange glances on the couch. Don rubs Bernie's thumb with a natural, almost involuntary affection.

Bernie also survived extreme loneliness after her husband of 31 years passed away in 1998. "Many, many times I felt alone. I had my friends and the people I worked with. Still, there was something missing," Bernie says.

That all changed when Bernie took a chance she never thought she would: eHarmony. She created a profile and began emailing potential matches.

"I was looking, and I found him," she laughs and smiles.

"You hooked me," Don smiles back. "You pursued me."

Meant 2 Be

While first dating, Don hardly believed his eyes when 68-year-old Bernadine emailed that she had grown up in Joliet, Illinois, the same town where he spent his childhood. The two shared the same Catholic faith, the same love for jazz and, it turns out, the same hometown.

Asked to name a few favorite traits about each other, Bernie and Don explain:

"He's just a good man."

"She's a good cook."

"Good company."

"Excellent company."

"Great companion, great friend."

"Come on now."

"You're blushing."

"Oh well."

"We get along very well."

"He's funny, and he's silly."

Months ago, when Bernie had mentioned Joliet, Don discovered the woman he was dating had actually been a classmate of his younger sister. "We actually lived about four or five blocks from each other," he says of their childhood in the 1940s.

Since their first spouses passed away, both Don and Bernie have visited their hometown alone on separate occasions. This weekend Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy will make the flight to Joliet, Illinois, together. They both have in-laws to visit.