Posted on Sun, Jul. 20, 2008

When Sol Young's online alias ''BlueSky'' saw June Spellman's profile on www.JDate.com, the dating scout saw the makings of a keeper: ``Nice. Sweet. Kind. I was always looking at the face . . . reading the face.''

Not that Young, 82, knows how to use the Jewish dating website -- or even a computer. Spellman, 86, also didn't touch the machine as her profile was viewed by several interested suitors.

Young's daughter-in-law decided that Spellman looked sweet. Spellman's surrogate son provided the tech savvy.

Seeing the loneliness of the recently widowed seniors, their children took matters into their own hands. They set up profiles, sent messages to potential matches -- signed with the parent's name -- and reported to their parents descriptions of the best matches.

And they had many. The number of seniors joining online dating services has risen at double-digit rates each year since 2003, which is the highest of any age group, according to Mark Brooks, a consultant and newsletter writer who tracks the Internet dating industry.

A rise in life expectancy and a timeless desire to pursue happiness mean that seniors are now dating more -- and going online for some matchmaking assistance.

`FLIRTING'

Terri Lynn, Young's online romance advocate who works in Fort Lauderdale, viewed Spellman's profile last September and liked what she saw. She soon sent a ''flirt'' -- a brief note of interest -- to the petite, soft-voiced widow, who had moved to Florida three years ago. Spellman's son, working from California, accepted the advances from BlueSky -- whose profile said he was ''looking for someone to love and cherish'' -- and sent along his phone number.

Although their online proxies were working cross-country, Spellman and Young soon found out that not only did they live close to each other, they had met several times at the Daniel D. Cantor Senior Center in Sunrise. The virtual relationship quickly budded into multiple dates each week, watching movies, betting at the racetrack and going shopping. The two are now planning a Caribbean cruise for later in the year, Spellman said, and they told their children they don't need the online profiles anymore.

Young said dating as a senior can be difficult.

''When you're married for a long time and you're used to certain things, it's hard to meet someone new at our age,'' he said.

But Internet dating was worth it, he said. ``I'm glad because I found her.''

Spellman also said she was happy with Young, and that he suited her better than a previous suitor, age 64, who found her through the site and was too young for her.

'I said, `What do you want with an old lady like me?' '' she said. ``I'm not ready to go out with someone my son's age.''

Director of the senior center Gail Weisberg watched Young and Spellman meet at the center and come together online. ''It's no different than the 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds,'' said Weisberg, who also oversees the center's singles group. She estimated that the average age of attendees at the group was 80. ``They're still looking to get hooked up.''

`VERY CONFUSING'

Weisberg coordinated two online dating classes for the singles group last year.

''They found it very confusing,'' said Weisberg, 64, from behind her flat-screen Dell desktop computer.

She said that she has had relationships with several men she met though Internet dating sites and that success takes time.

``It works. You just have to have patience.''

Of the 30-plus attendees at Thursday's singles meet, about half raised their hands when Weisberg asked if they ``would really like to meet somebody.''

When she asked who had tried online dating, one woman raised her hand. She said the service frustrated her because many users said they were 10 years younger than they were -- although she admitted taking two years off her age in her online profile.

The majority of the group said they do not know how to use a computer.

A. Jay Schwartz, 81, of Miami Beach, had the computer savvy to try Internet dating. But he distrusted online matching services and gave up on the idea before it could yield any dates. Schwartz, who has never married, said he started to register for several websites about five years ago, but was unwilling to pay for them when providers did not provide enough information for him about other users and potential dates.

''I would like companionship, but I think that could be hard to come by,'' Schwartz said.

Ari Schlee, 83, of Sunrise, also said he distrusted digital dating services, since his daughter had ''met a lot of bums'' online before finding a match. He has been dating a 72-year-old woman for about eight months, but he said their age disparity made it difficult.

''I think it's too late in life to look,'' he said.

But Leo Blank, 91, of Fort Lauderdale, doesn't think he's too old to look ahead. He's blind and has not yet been able to learn how to use the Internet on his special computer, which reads pages out loud to him.

Asked if he would try online dating when he learns to use the Internet, he was all in favor. ``Oh, definitely.''