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If you think romance and love are only for the young, you should meet 90-year-old Anne Dodd of Greensboro, who will tell you differently.

She will be marrying a 91-year-old active Methodist minister, the Rev. John J. Powell, whom she has known for many years, on Feb. 15. He is the pastor of Alexander United Methodist Church in Forest City.

Powell's former churches include three in Greensboro -- Lees Chapel Road, Calvary and Proximity.

It's easy to see how Powell was smitten with Dodd. She looks much younger than her age, has energy and vitality, plus a good memory and outgoing personality.

Powell said his doctor told him he is in such good physical condition that he may live to be well over 100.

A member of Powell's church once told him, Dodd said, that if Powell ever decided to marry again, he would give him the biggest wedding reception the church had ever seen. Dodd is waiting to see if that offer still stands.

The plan is for Powell's son, the Rev. James L. Powell of Marietta, Ga., to preach at his father's church the Sunday of the wedding.

When the sermon is over, the final hymn sung or played, and the benediction given, Powell's son will look out to the congregation and ask, "Is there anyone here who would like to be joined in holy matrimony today?"

Sitting near the back of the church, Dodd plans to stand up and answer, "I would."

Sitting near the front of the church, John Powell will also stand and answer," I would."

Dodd will walk down the aisle to Powell, and together, arm in arm, they will walk to the altar to be married. Their children and other family members plan to attend.

After exchanging Christmas cards for many years, Dodd and Powell reconnected when she visited her daughter, Dede, and had the opportunity to attend Powell's 91st birthday celebration in September.

After that meeting, Powell started calling Dodd every night. They had much in common, as both grew up in Methodist parsonages, both had lived in Greensboro, both were graduates of Duke University, and both had lost their longtime mates.

One night Powell called her, and in the course of the conversation, asked her, "What do you think about making this relationship permanent?"

Her reply was, "I'm willing!"

"How about Christmas?" he asked.

"That's too soon. I'm not going to tell my children about this until you run it by your children," Dodd said.

"I've known families that got real upset about their older parents getting remarried," she told Powell, "and I don't want to cause any friction in your family."

Powell assured Dodd that this decision to marry would be fine with his children.

During Thanksgiving, she talked with Powell's daughter on the phone for half an hour and they hit it off fine.

Then she talked with Powell's son.

"I think your dad is a real go- getter," Dodd said.

Without hesitation, Powell's son replied, "Well, I think you are a real go-getter too."

The couple plans to live in a home and on land that has been in the Powell family for many years, in Mill Spring, N.C.

Dodd first met Powell while both were students at Duke.

She graduated from high school at age 14, stayed home a year, and then went to Greensboro College where she obtained a degree in home economics. She taught in Greensboro for three years.

But she liked the idea of becoming a nurse, and her father told her that the child of a Methodist minister could go to Duke free at that time.

She was in the School of Nursing while Powell was in Divinity School, studying to become a Methodist minister. Powell was two years ahead of her in college, so they only dated about a year before he left to start his career as a Methodist minister. Later, she received a bachelor's degree in nursing from Duke and worked in several North Carolina hospitals, including Duke.

Since their paths took them separate ways, they each eventually married someone else.

After WWII in 1946, Anne married Wally Dodd. Married 51 years, he died after having bypass heart surgery in 1997. Over the years, Dodd and Powell kept in touch by exchanging Christmas cards and through mutual friends.

Dodd has mixed feelings about leaving Greensboro and embarking on life in a new location as the wife of a Methodist minister.

Greensboro is where she once lived with her parents, Eudora Pettillo Bennett and the Rev. John Wesley Bennett. Her grandparents once owned a large farm where Rice Toyota is now located on Battleground Avenue. She has many memories of the farm and what her family life was like over many decades.

There are also many memories associated with Greensboro College. As a 1938 graduate, Dodd is one of the oldest surviving alumni of the college.

Also, she will be leaving Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church where she has been a member since 1935.

At the same time, she feels excited about this opportunity to have a new life which she will share with her dear friend, Powell.

She has been told, "You're crazy for getting married at this age." But Dodd knows the importance of trust and the comfort of companionship.

With her wit and sparkling personality, she will easily make new friends. The new year promises to be an exciting adventure for Dodd.

To contact Peggy Longmire, e-mail her at rlongmire@triad.rr.com or call her at 288-9040.