Donna Barnes and Creston Shaw pose for a Valentine's photo at the Union County Senior Center, La Grande, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Shaw, 100, and Barnes are engaged, and they plan to stay that way.

LA GRANDE — Creston Shaw and his fiancee, Donna Barnes, both of Alicel, will not be exchanging gifts or cards this Valentine’s Day. To them, it will be just another 24-hour span.

The reasoning behind this sentiment says more about their love for one another than any Hallmark greeting card could.

“Every day is pretty much Valentine’s Day for us,” Barnes said.

Valentine’s Day has come and gone for Shaw and Barnes many times during their lives. Shaw is 100 and Barnes is also a senior. Still, it is clear they are many steps ahead of Father Time whenever they step on to a dance floor, which they do every Tuesday around 11 a.m. That is when the couple comes to the Union County Senior Center in La Grande for lunch and to dance the late morning away to the BlueMountaineers.

When the band starts playing, Barnes and Shaw begin dancing with a grace and at a pace that makes it apparent they are slowing the sands of time to a trickle. The couple’s dance moves are anything but choreographed.

“We dance where the music tells us to go,” Barnes said.

The couple also dance in other locations, but almost always to the music of the BlueMountaineers.

“It has a definite beat to it,” Barnes said. “It is what we like.”

Denny Langford, of Union, one of the band’s leaders, often calls Shaw and Barnes to tell them where the BlueMountaineers will be playing. The couple never fail to mark the dates and location on their calendars.

“We pretty much follow the band,” Barnes said.

Barnes and Shaw credit their ability to dance so often to workouts on their stationary bikes.

“We exercise so that we can dance,” Shaw said.

Barnes and Shaw became a couple after both lost their spouses.

Barnes lost her husband, Bill, of 51 years and Shaw lost his wife of 76 years, Dovey.

Loneliness and a desire to help each other drew Creston Shaw and Donna Barnes together.

“We started hanging out together,” Barnes said.

They knew each other and their families well after serving together on the Anthony Lakes Ski Patrol for many years.

Barnes said that her late husband and Shaw were such good friends that for 25 years the men would meet each February in Wyoming to ski together.

Today, Barnes still skis but Shaw does not, stepping to the sidelines when he turned 100. Still, Shaw goes to Anthony Lakes many weekends to be with his fiancee while she skis. He isn’t enjoying being a spectator, though.

“I miss skiing, and I’m thinking of starting again,” he said.

The centenarian thinks he may be able to ski again because he feels stronger due in part to his exercise regime.

Shaw and Barnes have been engaged for several years but no wedding bells are in their future.

“Getting married at our age would be complicated,” said Barnes, who wears a diamond engagement ring she received from Shaw.

Meanwhile, the couple are continuing to embrace life like few others, whether on the dance floor or the ski slope.

“We find a blessing in every day,” Barnes said.