Some might see these photos as sad.
Others may alternatively take great pleasure in the fact that they serve as a reminder of the intense love that once existed on Earth.
The couple’s granddaughter, Emily Hime, describes the image as a snapshot of “something lovely.” The grace of unwavering love.
Chathan-Kent Hospice’s Facebook page featured the viral images of her grandparents kissing while her grandmother lay in her hospice bed as “a wonderful message of love.”
Hime uploaded the pictures along with an article.
“During the last few months of my Grandma’s life I was blessed to witness something beautiful. And that was the unconditional love between my grandparents,” Hime wrote.
Hime’s relatives used to make fun of grandpa’s inability to live without grandma since she took care of him in every way.
Yet when her life came to an end, their positions were reversed.
Grandpa’s adjustment was rather significant. He had to learn how to perform tasks that he had never done before on a regular basis.
“Through this, I have realized that the most romantic love story isn’t Romeo and Juliet.. but it’s grandma and grandpa who grew old together. It’s grandpa sticking by grandma’s side during the most difficult period of her life,” Hime wrote.
Grandfather cooked, did the laundry, held his wife’s hand during chemotherapy, and accompanied her to every meeting with a doctor so she wouldn’t have to.
“It’s the staff at the hospital awing over his devotion and saying how everyone loved watching them together, including people sitting in the waiting rooms,” Hime wrote. “It’s him being by her side every single day while she was hospitalized and every day while she remained in hospice.”
Hospice is a specific type of care that prioritizes the quality of life for people with “advanced, life-limiting disease” as well as their carers, according to the American Cancer Society.
At one time, grandfather requested his granddaughter to assist him in creating signs so they could adorn the house since he believed his wife was about to return.
He was by her side and kissed her forehead when she didn’t get home.
“She’s more beautiful than ever. Doesn’t she look so pretty?” he would say.
Every day he complimented her on how lovely she was.
Every time he considered that she could be uncomfortable, he would start crying.
Despite his inability to endure the idea of her suffering, he never left her side.
“They had that kind of forever love, the love we all aspire for. They would have been married 60 years next month, and yet, 60 years still wouldn’t have been enough,” Hime wrote.
When they were in their 20s, grandma and grandpa met at a bicycle club in England.
For those 60 years, that love grew stronger every day.
“Watching the way he loved her is such an incredible reminder to choose wisely. Choose someone who will still be your absolute best friend 60 years down the road. Who will still be holding your hand during the best of times, but most importantly during the worst of times. Someone who isn’t embarrassed or shy to express their love. Who proudly says “she’s the most beautiful thing and I love her so much” in a room full of people. That’s love,” Hime wrote.