Column: Lovers in the twilight time

Ray Sternberg displays the medals he earned in World War II, including a Purple Heart and Silver Star, on the wall of the room he and Jerri Kane share.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

A photo of Ray Sternberg as a young man also hangs in the room he shares with Jerri, who calls Ray her “gentle giant.”  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

A collage of photos of Jerri Kane, upper left, as a young woman and other family and friends hangs on the wall of her and Ray’s room at the Jewish Home. Jerri’s daughter, Eileen, is bottom center.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Decorations in Ray and Jerri’s room are remnants of the long lives they led before falling in love last year.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Ray Sternberg and Jerri Kane embrace in the library at the Jewish Home in Reseda. Though often inseparable, the couple makes sure to spend time apart -- Ray plays cards at a nearby senior center and Jerri leads tours of the home.   (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

“I think we fell in like, and from falling in like, it grew to love. And at our age that’s simply spectacular,” 88-year-old Jerri Kane says of her relationship with Ray Sternberg, 93.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)