Posted on 04/24/2005 5:10:55 PM PDT by Borges
ST. LOUIS, Mich. - Alexander J. Vance and his wife, Leola, made a life together for nearly 64 years. This week, they died 14 hours apart at Schnepp's Health Care Center.
Alexander Vance met Leola in Algonac, where Vance was building barges for the military in 1941. He was 20, she was 16.
Leola Vance later told her children that she liked her future husband's personality and the twinkle in his eye. He liked "everything" about her, Phil Vance, the couple's 48-year-old son, told the Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant for a Saturday story.
They married Dec. 19, 1941 and moved to the Alma area.
Alexander Vance worked for Alma Products for 39 years, retiring as general foreman about 20 years ago, while his wife was a homemaker.
The couple stayed in their home for as long as they could, until Parkinson's disease forced Alexander Vance to move into a nursing home in February.
Earlier this month, Leola Vance, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, began complaining that her head hurt. It later was determined that she had bleeding in her brain. By April 15, her husband also had taken a turn for the worse and both were in a coma in a nursing home.
"It was almost like a race," Phil Vance said. "They always said they wanted to go together and I sometimes think they were telepathically communicating about who would go first. But we were told she might live for several more days."
Alexander Vance died at 9:45 a.m. EDT Wednesday. Phil Vance said family members were singing hymns in his mother's room later that night, when she stopped breathing just before midnight.
"'Now you can be together,' I said," recalled Phil Vance, a retired minister who will perform a service at the Dewey Funeral Home in Alma on Monday.
"They had asked me to do the funeral. It's really a great love story."
Or 64 days, or, if you're Brittany Spears-- 64 hours
It isn't a chick flick. My husband assumed it would be, but after watching it we both thought it was a very good, very touching movie. A very neat and unusual love story but the look at a long life together with a suprise ending.
"Wow 64 years... some peopel can't stay married for 64 months."
My parents had been married 68 years when my dad died.
I might even make it, we have been married for 47 years and i'm we're only 67.
The song was originally written for the classic romantic comedy with the incomparable Maurice Chevalier: "Love me Tonight" (1932).
I still love that song.
I was 16 and my wife was 18. Who's the smooth talker? But its been 34 years now. She's still the oldest.
"I think it was Bill Cosby that said 'Kill the first one, then the word gets out'"
I knew the man inspired me.
Oh! I love that song!
My mother and father celebrate their 51st on May 21 of this year.
Their song is "Time After Time".
My mom's not doing so well now and I'm not able to visit them as much as I'd like.
Brings a little tear to my eye when I hear their song....
"Time after time, I tell myself that I'm, so lucky to be loving you..."
*Sigh*
The problem I have with "Isn't it Romantic?" is that seeing the lyrics in print does not begin to convey how beautiful the song is. It's sublime reassurance, it's complete peace and heartfelt glow, it's an easy smile and a knowing blush. It's champagne and candlelight. Ahhhhhh. That's nice.
My parents had just celebrated their 65th Wedding anniversary in June before my father died, in July. Mom lasted two more years, grieving every single day for him.That was 10 years ago. This is a sweet story of love til death. Oh how we need this kind of commitment in this generation.
We had a close family friend die Friday and his ex-wife died the same day. So their children lost both parents at the same time. It is strange.
"The problem I have with "Isn't it Romantic?" is that seeing the lyrics in print does not begin to convey how beautiful the song is. It's sublime reassurance, it's complete peace and heartfelt glow, it's an easy smile and a knowing blush. It's champagne and candlelight. Ahhhhhh. That's nice."
Uhm, gag!
:p
Bitter, eh?
You truly have a way with words. Love it! (<:
I agree the melody for "Isn't It Romantic" is so, well, wonderful.....
I'm humming now...Hmmm...hmmm, hum....
Now, lights out in Minnesota.
G'Night you fellow romantic.
If only Monday mornings were so kind.
he wrote this one too
To Keep My Love Alive
I've been married and married,
And often I've sighed,
I'm never a bridesmaid,
I'm always the bride.
I never divorced them-
I hadn't the heart.
Yet remember these sweet words
"Till death do us part."
REFRAIN 1
I married many men,
A ton of them,
And yet I was untrue to none of them
because I bumped off ev'ry one of them
to keep my love alive
Sir Paul was a frail;
he looked a wreck to me.
At night he was a horse's neck to me
So I performed an appendectomy
To keep my love alive.
Sir Thomas had insomnia
he couldn't sleep at night.
I bought a little arsenic
he's sleeping now all right.
Sir Philip played the harp;
I cussed the thing.
I crowned with his harp
to bust the thing.
And now he plays where harps are
just the thing,
To keep my love alive,
To keep my love alive.
REFRAIN 2
I thought Sir George had possibilities,
but his flirtations made me ill at ease,
and when I'm ill at ease
I kill at ease
To keep my love alive.
Sir Charles came from a sanatorium
and yelled for drinks in my emporium
I mixed one drink
He's in memorium
To keep my love alive.
Sir Francis was a singing bird
A nightingale. That's why
I tossed him off my balcony
To see if he could fly
Sir Athelstane indulged in fratricide;
He killed his dad and that was patricide
One night I stabbed him at my mattress side
To keep my love alive,
To keep my love alive.
LOL! That doesn't mean they weren't real people!
You'd've been better off with bitter. ;O)
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