Seven couples at a Massachusetts nursing home renewed their vows during individual ceremonies last week, part of an annual effort to honor lasting love.
After 71 years together, Albert, 93, and Genevieve Barard were the longest married couple to recommit on Feb. 15, when city clerk Rosie Blackwell visited their room at Taunton Nursing Home.
Blackwell told the Taunton Gazette she has been performing annual renewal ceremonies for at least 15 years. Though some residents exchange vows in the privacy of their rooms, others celebrate with friends and family and enjoy Valentine’s-themed entertainment in the dining room.
The city-owned facility houses 101 residents about 40 miles south of Boston.
It’s where the Barards ended up after his service in World War II, their 1946 marriage and a full life raising two sons.
Their fellow vow-renewers included Francis and Louise Dias, who have been married 32 years but now live apart, with Louise at Taunton and Francis at home. They offered a little advice as they recommitted to each other.
“Work things out, and take it one day at a time,” they vowed.
Some of the couples renew their vows year-after-year, and providing a reminder of young love is one of the joy’s of the city clerk’s job.
Blackwell helps residents individualize their vows with meaningful Biblical verses, poems, quotes and songs. What better ambassador for devotion than John Lennon, whose 1970 song “Love” was inspiration for one couple.
Of course, there are smiles and hijinks too. It’s not an unusual occurrence for a husband to say he’s no longer committed to his wife, even as he smiles at her and holds her hand.
After all these years, the wives know where they really stand.
The Taunton Gazette made it clear for anyone who wasn’t there to observe Albert Barard’s love for his bride after more than seven decades.
“I got the diamond out of the rough,” he told a reporter.
