Love endures: Couples honored during ceremony at Modesto nursing home

Feb. 13--Honesty. Empathy. Faith in God. Communication. Waking next to each other every morning.

These are some of the elements to everlasting love, according to couples who have been together 35, 45, 55, even 67 years.

"True love, you stick it out, you don't just quit and give up because you have problems," said Michael Heptner. "For better or for worse, in sickness and health, we mean that, we don't just say the words."

Heptner's wife, Sharon, is a patient at Windsor Post Acute Healthcare of Modesto, formerly Evergreen Nursing & Rehabilitation. They were among eight couples who were recognized during a ceremony at the facility Friday.

Jason Visola, director of recreation, organized the event to honor couples who demonstrate unwavering commitment, the spouses who come every day to the facility to spend time with their husbands and wives.

"I wanted to give them thanks for doing what they do," Visola said. "It is very difficult when someone gets sick ... but there are husbands and wives who come every single day, rain or shine."

He decorated the dining hall with streamers and flowers and enlarged wedding pictures of the couples. They each walked, or rolled in wheelchairs, down the aisle. One couple who have been together for 66 years were escorted by their children.

Visola introduced each couple and spoke about their unique devotion to each other:

For a year, Claire McCarthy walked every day to visit her husband, Richard, before she arranged for regular transportation.

Rudy Solario stays with his partner, Karley Stone, from morning till night every day. They are one of the most affectionate couples, Visola said. Solario has encouraged Stone, an artist, to learn to draw and paint with her left hand after she suffered a stroke that crippled her dominant hand.

Michael Hepner still takes Sharon out on dates. They recently saw "Star Wars" together and had portraits taken at JCPenney.

Robert and Pauline Atherstone have been married 67 years. Robert can't talk due to a stroke but they communicate through gestures, smiles, winks. Visola said Robert Atherstone always kisses Pauline's hand before she leaves.

Marvin and Linda Doty, the only couple both living at Windsor, eat every meal together and are always holding hands.

The couple got married before they were old enough to legally drive.

"My mom wouldn't sign for us because she said I was too wild and we'd never stay married," he said. "I talked to my dad and he told me marriage isn't a one-night stand, it's forever. I must have took him serious because we've been married ever since and I wouldn't give her up for nothing."

In the age of 10-day marriages, Visola said he wanted to pay tribute to the couples who remain loyal. He said the daily trips to the facility for some of the spouses are a great effort due to their own health problems, but they always find a way.

"That burning desire to share compassion and hope and desire and fear burns in all of you and I see it every day," he told the couples. "You are faithful, you are patient, you are a smile, you are a tear, you are a gentle touch, you are a comforting hug, you are a tender kiss and, most importantly, you are present, you are here."

Erin Tracy: 209-578-2366, @ModestoBeeCrime

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