Last fall, CBS News featured an article on their website titled, “Former surgeon general sounds the alarm on the loneliness epidemic.”

Sally, a widow of four years, emailed:

When I was pondering retirement from the deli I had founded and worked in for 25 years, the main thing I looked forward to was having “free time.” With it, I could do nothing — if I wanted — which sounded great after all those years of serving sandwiches.

In October, this paper featured an article about Chuck, 78, a Lancaster widower, who had lost his wife of 55 years.

This past December, a Harrisburg woman, whose nickname is Neet, was in the reception room of her doctor’s office. She started leafing through the December issue of 50plus LIFE.