RICH AND TANDY: A STRONG COMMON INTEREST AND A DESIRE FOR A FUN PARTNER

Never married at 57 years of age, Tandy expected to stay single for the rest of her life… until Rich persuaded her that he was the person she had been seeking to be her partner..  It took lots of patience and persistence from Rich, several wonderful outdoor adventures, and some wise friends and a mutual love of skiing to make this happen.

Rich had been married for several years, but divorced in 1994.  For several years, Rich and Tandy shared a couple of skiing friends in common without ever having met each other. It took the intervention of these two friends, who thought Rich and Tandy would make a good match, to lead them to the next step. In April 2011, at 10 in the morning, these friends met Tandy at the bottom of a chairlift at Crystal Mountain.  As Rich approached they said, “Oh, by the way Rich is joining us too.”  After a few runs together, they got out of the way to let Tandy and Rich get to know each other better.  Rich and Tandy skied till the lift closed, and then Rich asked her for her phone number.

He called the next day, and Tandy was shocked: “I’d had some false starts, so I didn’t have any expectations for a follow-through.”  Rich asked her out to dinner and she accepted.  At the dinner, which they officially call their “first date,” they now admit that they were both nervous.  Rich noted, however, “As we talked, I thought this was the most unique woman I’ve ever met.”

They agreed to go skiing together the next weekend.  Tandy says her awareness that Rich was the right person for her took a lot longer because she had suffered from several bad experiences with men in the past, leading her to cultivate a deliberately independent attitude. At every stage of their growing relationship, Tandy said to herself, “That was nice, but he probably won’t call again.”

About a month after they started dating, they had a memorable dinner at the Cactus Restaurant in Kirkland.  Tandy relaxed and shared more of herself and noticed that, “We really connected.”  Before they parted that evening, they had their first kiss.  Right after that, they began “going steady.”

Rich says that only two months after they had begun seeing each other, “I told myself, this is the person I’m going to marry.”  They dated frequently and began sharing vacations together.  But, it took a year for Rich to actually propose.  While spring skiing at Crystal Mountain,  he invited Tandy to ski a challenging run with the auspicious name of “Sunnnyside” -  the perfect spot for a proposal - but Tandy declined because she knew the snow conditions would be poor.

 

Rich spent the entire day planning how he would approach Tandy and pop the question. Finally, on the last run down the mountain, a run named “Stump Farm”, in complete frustration, he shouted to Tandy, who was just ahead of him: “Stop!” Somewhat impatiently she did so and, skiing just below her, Rich looked up and said, “I’ve been trying to get you alone all day!  Will you marry me?”  She didn’t hesitate in saying “Yes.”  Tandy now admits, “I had no sense what was coming; I thought it was just another fun ski day.”

They were married a few months later, when Tandy was 58 and Rich was 61.  They thought they would have a small, intimate wedding, but between them there were lots of friends and family.  They finally settled on a small ceremony for their 30 closest relatives and friends at the Bellevue Court House, followed by a reception attended by 150 at the Bellevue Club.

Now, after a year of marriage, both are totally happy with their decisions.Rich describes Tandy as “Easy going, fun, non-judgmental, and our politics and philosophies are the same.”  He adds, “She’s a great friend.”

Tandy says that after all of her years of searching and assuming she would remain single, “I’m lucky I have such a wonderful husband.  He’s nice, smart and handsome and he has a wonderful sense of humor.  Our being together seems easy and natural.”

Although they still share a great love of skiing, Rich notes, “We mesh together well, even when we’re not skiing.”