When Suzanne Weldon and Donald Morr were married, the moment was bittersweet. As two violinists played “Canon in D” by Pachabel, Morr stood beside his bride, a bouquet of calla lilies in her lap, her body riddled with terminal cancer, and promised to love, honor and cherish her “until we are parted by death.”
It was one of Weldon’s final wishes to marry her sweetheart of 34 years legally and with a Christian service. “This is a beautiful thing today,” said the Rev. Mark Whittaker, Weldon’s pastor. “We’re here, celebrating with this couple – and it’s about time.”
About 20 of the couple’s friends squeezed into Weldon’s Hospice room and even spilled out into the hallway. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place.
The bride and groom, both age 71, met in Fort Myers in 1976. His wife had died and she was divorced. [T]he couple never legally married, but lived together in a common law marriage. That always bothered Weldon, Morr said before the wedding. “This will ease that pain for her. I’m just sorry it had to be this way.”
Weldon said her dream had come true, to be an “old married couple.”
