FOR COUPLE, IT'S NEVER TOO LATE FOR LOVE : SENIOR CENTER NEWLYWEDS SHARE FIRST VALENTINE'S DAY TOGETHER.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

When Katie Franz and Joe Hofer met in May at the Simi Valley Senior Citizens Center's bereavement support group, marriage was the furthest thing from either one's mind.

Both had been married to their respective spouses roughly the same number of years - Joe, 85, was with Ann for 55 years and two weeks; and Katie, 79, was married to Marvin Franz for 56-1/2 years. Both lost their beloved spouses within one year of each other.

Both were still grieving when they met and fell in love. They tied the knot after a whirlwind, four-month courtship.

So, then, this is their first Valentine's Day together.

``We don't have time to lose at our age,'' said Katie Franz Hofer, who was widowed Oct. 8, 1993, and became a bride again Sept. 28.

Just one look at Katie settled Joe's future marital status. ``When I seen Katie I fell in love with her, and we're both greatly in love with one another,'' he said.

For Katie, the romance started about two years after moving to Simi Valley following the death of her husband. Early on, she had visited the senior center, but her sorrow kept her from coming back for a time.

``I like to play pinochle, and I won a couple of times, but I couldn't take it - my husband had just died, so I stayed and stayed home,'' she said.

One day, more than two years later, she returned to the center for a bereavement class and spied Joe across the room.

``He happened to be there, but I didn't think anything of it,'' she said. She went back the following week, but Joe was in the hospital for surgery.

They met again a few weeks later at an ice cream social, and on impulse she approached Joe. ``I thought I would ask him how he was feeling, and he asked me for my phone number and I gave it to him,'' she said. ``I thought, he'll never call me.''

He surprised her by calling that same night in May to ask for a dinner or church date. Joe can't explain exactly what led him to call Katie, though he does have a good idea.

``I figured I might want to pay a visit to her,'' said Joe, a devout Christian. ``I say it was all God's leading.''

Initially, Katie balked at even letting Joe come over for a visit.

``I felt funny, because I hadn't dated before and didn't want to ruin my reputation by having a man at my house,'' she said.

But he persisted. ``He said, `What if you find me on your front steps? Will you let me in?' '' she remembers. ``I said, I guess I'll have to let you in, but I'll tell my neighbors that it's (someone from a religious group). . . . A lot of them come here.''

He showed up on her doorstep and they went on their first date, to a service at Sonrise Christian Fellowship. Then he asked her to dinner at the senior center. They went together every day after that.

``Then he said, `You know, I'm never going to get married,' and I said, that's OK, because I'm not going to get married again either,'' she said.

That vow was soon forgotten. ``He said, `Will you marry me? Think it over,' and I said, yeah, I'll marry you.''

It didn't take long for Joe to decide to pop the question. He had pretty much ``cried myself out'' over the death of his wife and daughter, who died within a short time of each other.

``I was getting pretty lonely. I felt why not have a good companion?'' he said.

But it was more than loneliness that prompted him to propose marriage. ``The more I saw of (Katie) the closer I got to her,'' he said. ``I can tell pretty much what a person is and what a person isn't - she was polite and friendly.''

The happy couple married at the senior center, surrounded by 150 close friends and family, and the reception went over so well that people still talk about it, Joe said.

``We've been married since September, and we haven't had one argument,'' Katie says proudly.

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Photo: (Color only in Simi) Simi Valley residents Joe Hofer, 85, and his wife, Katie, 79, were married Sept. 28.

John McCoy/Daily News