Now that the dust has settled, here is the long and short of it. I'm 56, starting out at the very beginning - no music training - nothing. I am just starting to learn guitar - simply for the enjoyment of it. And yes, I certainly understand that in an ideal world, intimate knowledge of music theory(and reading) is the best.
Having said that, I was hoping that lacking this (important) knowledge would not be a HUGE impediment to the pleasure of learning guitar.