Care home staff help couple celebrate 70th anniversary

James and Elizabeth Kerr were married on March 25, 1950.

Care home staff help couple celebrate 70th anniversary SWNS

A devoted couple celebrated 70 years of marriage – despite the coronavirus lockdown.

James Kerr, 98, married his wife, Elizabeth, 92, on March 25, 1950.

The couple, known to friends and family as Jimmy and Cissy, both have dementia and are looked after at Hill View Care Home in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire.

Their three children had planned a special party for them, but plans had to be shelved due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although restrictions on visitors meant they could not celebrate with their nine grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren, the couple received cards and presents.

Celebration: The couple got married on March 25, 1950.

Their youngest daughter, Rosemary, 60, said: “We were heartbroken that we couldn’t throw the party we’d planned, but the staff are wonderful – they made sure mum and dad had a happy day.

“The staff there just love them.

“One carer told me that when mum is in the dayroom and dad walks in to join her in the morning, her face lights up like she’s 21 again.

“It’s a deep-rooted, true love and the carer told me their devotion for each other makes her and the staff want to cry.”

Home manager Kathleen Glasgow said: “It was our privilege to help Jimmy and Cissy celebrate their anniversary, what an achievement.

“I know how much it meant to them and their family to mark the day, so we made a big fuss of them. 

“When this is all over, we’ll help Rosemary and the family give them the party they’d been planning all along.

“Jimmy and Cissy are a shining example of how to have a long and happy marriage.”

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