GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Some people bowl because they just want something fun to do. Others bowl professionally.
For John and Lisa Malfroid, the senior couple took on Clique Lanes' senior bowling league after their dog, Holly, passed away in 2022.
"We were feeling down," said John, 73. "And I take books out of the library all the time, try to learn all I can. You can really be consumed by it."
The Malfroids have been married for 29 years. Bowling became a way for the couple to heal.
"It was a therapeutic thing to do," said John. "It's opened up another world and it's been real beneficial to me."
The Malfroids don't have any kids, which makes Holly mean that much more.
"I was 59 and when she passed away, I was 71," John said. "I went through a lot of things during that time, several deaths in my family. You kind of think back on how that dog was always there kind of helping you through."
"Sometimes we [spoke] to her like a person," Lisa, 68, said. "And I think she [understood]."
While bowling has been a huge help following the loss of Holly, it has also strengthened the Malfroid's nearly three-decade-long marriage.
"We are both retired and at least we can go out and we're not staying at home every day," Lisa said. "It's fun for us."
"I think she'd be wagging her tail, jumping around, and encouraging us to move on with life," John said.
The Malfroids are moving along in life, one strike at a time.
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