After 40 years of marriage,
Ed Yon only has eyes for his wife Lorraine.
Surrounded by nine other couples and several guests, the Yon’s participated in a vow renewal ceremony on Feb. 11 in the theater at Pebble Springs Retirement Community.
The special event was one of at least two such ceremonies held at senior living communities near
The Villages, along with Watercrest Senior Living at Spanish Springs.
Ed was excited to renew his vows, but he was even happier to continue his life with Lorraine.
“I’m just glad I’m still around to be here with her,” Ed said. “That is the most exciting thing. We don’t argue or holler at each other. I have a job of taking care of her and I try to do my best. If the tables were turned, she would take care of me.”
Deb Babcock, Pebble Springs Retirement Community lifestyle director, said this was the first year the independent living community hosted the ceremony and she wanted to make it special.
Along with the ceremony, over a dozen wedding and couples photos from residents were sprawled across a table decorated in red at the end of the building entryway that Babcock called “Lovers Lane.”
“To me, celebrating the love of so many who have been together for 50 or more years, it’s amazing and special,” she said.
Two children, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren later, Merna Wieseltheir feels that she was lucky to find Herald, her husband of 63 years.
“He took me to see “Westside Story” and then we went to Chinatown to get food. It was our favorite place to go after that,” she said.
After several decades together, both Ed and Lorraine remember having their first date at a Friendly’s restaurant in Norwich, Connecticut, after the pair initially met through a dating service.
“That was not my idea,” Lorraine said.
At the time she was a widow and didn’t want to attend a wedding alone, which inspired her friends to sign her up for a dating service.
She also admitted meeting Ed was the answer to her prayers — or at least a very specific prayer she made during a trip to India.
“I said, ‘Please grant me whatever you think is good for me,’” Lorraine said. “When I got back home, I met Ed. Oh, it was very much a blessing. We’ve always been kind and good to each other.”
For Bob and Diane Mahan the vow renewal ceremony marked the couple’s 55th anniversary.
While reciting the vows, Bob gazed into his wife’s eyes and held her.
“We always hold hands,” he said. “She’s just so cute. They did a great job (with the event). It was perfect. I feel it makes us a part of the family here.”
The couple also had vow renewal ceremonies for their 25th, 35th and 50th anniversaries. They will celebrate 56 years of marriage in September.
Diane was pleased with the special celebration at Pebble Springs.
“I can’t believe they took the time to do something special like this for all of us,” she said. “We could still look at each other and still have plenty of privacy.
“I loved the vows because they really meant something. You don’t stay married this many years if those words don’t mean something to you,” Diane said.
Watercrest Senior Living at Spanish Springs continued the tradition of celebrating lasting love on Feb. 13 with a vow renewal ceremony of
its own.
Kayla Ramos, Watercrest Senior Living at Spanish Springs resident lifestyle director, said the special event, planned each year around Valentine’s Day, includes a sweet ceremony led by retired pastor Joe Maher and a dinner.After the brief ceremony, participants ate a meal that featured a menu of grilled salmon, prime ribs, sides and strawberry cheesecake.
“It’s like a full-on wedding with live entertainment,” Ramos said. “I’ve always done this event at every place I’ve worked. It’s just something that I enjoy doing every year. After four years (at Watercrest), this has become a staple.”During the ceremony, six couples took a moment to walk on the red carpet to signal Valentine’s Day and walk under the arch.
“Some haven’t had the chance to do a formal wedding, or they had to do a shotgun wedding before their husband went off to war,” Ramos said. “Honoring their commitment is a beautiful thing to be celebrated. For some, even their families come to be a part of the ceremony and they don’t get to see their families very often, so it makes it extra special.”
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