Philip Fishman has a thing for coincidences. Sometimes he seeks them out—especially when he’s writing historical fiction novels. Other times, they find him. You decide which this is.

When Fishman was 7 years old, his family moved to Olney, Ill. from Evansville, Ind. Now if you know anything about Olney, you know it’s home to the white (albino) squirrels but not a lot of Jewish people. In fact, when Fishman and his family moved there in 1946, his was one of two Jewish families in Olney, located about 2½ hours east of St. Louis. The other family had the surname of Faintich.

“Our families became friends,” Fishman, 85, said, adding that his dad had taken a job in Olney managing a clothing store. “They had two sons at the time. I remember the older one had a chemistry set and showed me an experiment. That’s what sparked my interest in chemistry.”

After a year, the Fishmans moved back to Evansville. Decades passed. Fishman married and the couple had a daughter. Eventually, the family wound up in Birmingham, Ala.

Seven or eight years ago, Fishman, for whatever reason, found himself wondering about the Faintiches. Curious, he tried to track them down.

“I remembered the older son’s name,” Fishman said. “So I looked on the internet for him in Olney, but couldn’t find anything. But I did find him in St. Louis. I found his number in the white pages and called.”

At first, the eldest Faintich son was suspicious — “He thought I was a scammer,” Fishman said — but he finally confirmed that he had lived in Olney.

“He didn’t remember showing me a chemistry experiment — he even denied it — but I knew it was him,” Fishman said. “He wasn’t too interested in reconnecting.”

Once again, time moved forward. About nine months after Fishman’s wife of 59 years passed away in February 2023, he started a Facebook group for Jewish singles 70 and older. People from all over the world joined and within a short time, the group had more than 2,500 members.

“I wasn’t looking to get remarried,” said Fishman. “I wanted to meet some nice ladies, which I did, but the best of the bunch was Peggy.”

Like Fishman, St. Louisan Peggy Rothman, 82, wasn’t looking for love. She joined the Facebook group simply hoping to make new friends after her husband of 58 years passed away in June 2022. Still working part-time as a paralegal, Rothman also sings with the Jewish women’s choir Kolot, dances when she gets the chance — and hits the casino now and then, especially when she’s feeling lucky.

In the beginning, Rothman and Fishman talked often by phone and video chatted. He was charmed by her warmth and good humor; she admired his soft-spoken demeanor and expressions of affection. Fishman, once a chemical products salesman, believes in chemistry. And with Rothman, he felt the real deal. She did, too.

In April 2024, Fishman drove the 520 miles from Birmingham to St. Louis to meet Rothman in person and the rest, as they say, is history. The couple plans to marry on May 18, with Rabbi Howard Kaplansky officiating and their adult children (his one daughter, her two sons) giving their full support. They recently bought a cozy ranch house near Creve Coeur, big enough for them and Rothman’s two English Mastiffs, which have taken a real liking to Fishman.

But the story doesn’t end there. Because when it comes to Philip Fishman, coincidences are always just around the corner.

Not long after he met Rothman, Fishman asked: “Does the name Faintich ring a bell?” And she said, “Yeah, there was a Faintich family that lived right next door to me when I was a kid,” while growing up in St. Louis.

When she recalled their first names, this Faintich family was indeed the same one that Fishman knew from Olney. In fact, the eldest Faintich son was likely around the same age as Rothman’s late husband, and she believed the two may have been classmates at Soldan-Blewett High School.

“Peggy actually took a picture of the two houses right next door to each other,” Fishman said.

“I mean I could spit into their porch, it was that close,” Rothman added.

“What were the chances — there are 60,000 Jews in St. Louis (now 45,800 according to the most recent study) — that Peggy’s family and the Faintich family I knew lived next to each other.”

Coincidence? Fate? Serendipity?

Whatever you call it, Fishman believes it’s another twist in a story still being written.