Two Octogenarians Commit to ‘Living Apart Together’
The New York Times
Harry Mirra had no interest in remarrying after the death of his wife until Ginny Valonis, herself a widow, opened his mind to a union on their terms.
Harry Mirra made it clear from the start that he didn’t want to marry Ginny Valonis. Back then, though, she was too in love to care.
Ms. Valonis, 80, was in what she called her “merry widow” phase when she began dating Mr. Mirra in 2013, a year after her husband of 45 years, Joseph Valonis, had died. While she wasn’t at all glad he was gone, she was ready to acknowledge what may not have been evident to the outside world. “I wasn’t very happy in my marriage,” she said. “I was the more friendly, easygoing one, and I would describe him as moody. Let’s say it was a challenge.”
Her courtship with Mr. Mirra, 87, whose wife of 59 years, Elizabeth Mirra, died of esophageal cancer in February 2013, would have its own set of challenges. But those had nothing to do with compatibility.
