Valentine's Day

Romance, Commitment Evident at Nazareth Living Center

February 14 is a special day for couples everywhere, but particularly for resident couples at Nazareth Living Center who celebrate enduring relationships, many lasting for 50 years or longer. Dressed in their finest, 13 couples convened on this special day to sip champagne cocktails and dine on beef medallions in the senior living campus’ Community Room, while nearby violinists provided romantic ambience. It’s all part of the annual Valentine’s Day celebration.

“We have some couples here who have been married for most of their lives,” said Lu Westhoff, Executive Director. “It’s rewarding to observe these long-standing commitments at a time when relationships don’t always last. They are role models for all of us.”

Bill and Evelyn Rimmer, for example, have been attending the Valentine’s Day luncheon every year since moving from their Carondelet neighborhood several years ago to Gleason Hall, the assisted living wing of Nazareth. Married for 60 years, the couple first met in 1942 when Bill, 19 at the time, was preparing to enter the U.S. Navy for a tour of duty during World War II. Just 15, Evelyn was immediately smitten with the young man who her father described as “sweet, like a puppy dog.” “I thought he was handsome,” says Evelyn matter of factly. “I thought she was beautiful,” adds Bill, and “kind, never saying a bad word about anyone.” Bill was attracted not only to Evelyn’s beauty and character but also to her stable and loving family. Having lost his father and mother at a young age and with a brother missing in action and presumed dead, Bill was almost alone in the world. “His unmarried aunt took care of him and his brother,” says Evelyn. “But she was much older and almost like a grandmother figure.” Bill was looking for a pen pal to write letters to while he was gone. He and Evelyn exchanged letters for three years until his return to St. Louis in 1945 when he reacquainted himself with his pen pal. Happily, he also learned that his brother was alive. While Bill reacquainted himself with Evelyn, his brother took a liking to Evelyn’s sister. Soon a double wedding was in the making, and the two brothers married the two sisters. Bill and Evelyn settled into married life, Bill becoming a barber and Evelyn working in accounting until they both retired. Today they spend their time together working on puzzles and socializing with other residents.

Although Valentine’s Day was never a big event in the past, they do look forward to celebrating now with residents. “It’s a fun way to visit with other couples and enjoy an excellent meal,” says Evelyn Rimmer. Although Bill and Evelyn are fortunate to live together at Nazareth, other couples both reside at Nazareth but in separate parts of the campus due to the level of care they require. Others live in nearby neighborhoods and commute daily for visits with spouses.