Farewell Party for Bev & Jim English slated May 4

ROYAL CITY - Royal Slope residents Jim and Bev English are moving to Prineville, Ore., and friends and neighbors will give them a friendly sendoff with a farewell party at 1 p.m. at the Nazarene Church on Sunday, May 4.

"We want to wish them well," said Sharon Chesterman, president of the Royal Slope Seniors, of which the Englishes have been members.

The Englishes are moving so that Jim can be closer to a daughter and sister. The sister has six children and an extended family of 40.

"That's a lot of nieces and nephews," Bev said.

"I'd love to get back around my family," Jim said.

The Englishes have lived at 10376 Road E SW since their marriage on Sept. 20, 2008. Bev, 78, has lived there since 1959, when she moved to the Slope with her first husband Ron Mickel.

Bev's father had taken the land out of sagebrush, and he and Mickel worked it together. Mickel died in 2002, after 43 years of marriage.

Jim, 81, born in Wallowa, Ore. is a retired U.S. Air Force tech sergeant. Until his marriage to Bev, he lived in Prineville. His first wife's name was Ruby. She died after 52 years of marriage.

Jim, whose wife died in 2007, met Bev on the Internet through Match.com. He could not stand being alone, and Bev had tired of being alone.

"Between the two of us, we had a lot of marriage experience," Bev said. "We didn't want to be alone any longer, and we knew what we were getting into."

Bev went to Match.com first, in 2006, not to find a man but to make new friends - men and women. She met a couple of the men personally, but nothing significant happened.

Jim came onto Match.com in 2008. Simply put, he was lonely, but he had an engaging personality that jumped off the emails he wrote. Bev couldn't resist.

"I could see he was the kind of man I liked," she said.

"I had a better line than the rest of them," Jim said.

The email courtship was comical at times. Before going onto Match.com, Jim knew nothing about computers.

"I had to call my daughters all the time to ask them how to do this or that or what do next," Jim said.

That meant the girls got a peek at what Jim and Bev were saving. They turned the tables on dear old dad.

"Be careful," they admonished.

Jim was careful, not to listen. He met Bev, in person, at a Safeway Parking lot in Tri-Cities in August.

"She was being real careful. That's why she chose a parking lot. There'd be plenty of witnesses," Jim said.

Jim still may not know how careful Bev really was. She was about to give a test only a real woman can give.

"I was shopping for a gift for my son's wedding," she said. "I kind of dragged Jim all over Tri-Cities. I was surprised by his stamina and how strong he was. He kept up with me every step of the way."

The Englishes will continue their "Only on Hallmark" love affair from Prineville. They plan to put Jim's RV to serious use, traveling here, there and everywhere.

Meanwhile, there are a few folks who wish to say farewell. The entire Royal Slope is invited.