When the staff at St. Croix Home in Iowa learned that their 97-year-old patient was approaching her 77th wedding anniversary, they wanted to do something special for Frances and her 98-year-old husband, Royce.
The couple married in 1944, but they did not have a wedding.
Francis and Royce married in the presence of witnesses, several family members and closest friends.
The couple didn’t even have memorable photos of that day because they didn’t have time to hire a photographer.
Francis and Royce met and fell in love at school. Together they played in a musical ensemble, sang in the choir and went to the same church.
But when Royce entered Cornell College, and then was sent to serve, the lovers began to see each other very rarely.
Royce even made a marriage proposal from afar. He sent a diamond ring to his father and asked him to give it to Francis on his behalf.
In the presence of his parents, the man presented a rose with a ring to his son’s chosen one, and then put the jewelry on her finger.
Upon learning that Frances did not have a wedding dress, the hospice staff wanted to give her the opportunity to feel like a bride. They prepared for her a vintage outfit from the 1940s. The dress was found in the family of one of the employees.
At the end of September, Frances, dressed in a veil, appeared before her husband, who on this occasion took out the uniform that he wore on his wedding day from the closet.
In the presence of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the couple again exchanged vows in the courtyard of their house, decorated with a makeshift altar and bouquets of flowers.
None of those present could hold back tears, looking at the love in their eyes, which remained alive even after 77 years.
Unlike the first wedding, a photographer worked at this celebration. He took many magical shots of the radiant bride and her elegant husband.
“He was beaming with happiness and never stopped smiling,” said the daughter of Francis and Royce, Susan Bilodeau.
The hospice’s music therapists played saxophone and guitar for the couple. And after the official part, relatives and friends were able to congratulate Francis and Royce and treat themselves to a wedding cake.