Medical Nurses Helped a 97-year-old Woman Wear a Wedding Dress to Celebrate Her Wedding Anniversary

With the assistance of the team, a hospice patient in Iowa, USA, walked down the aisle in a lovely wedding gown for the first time on the 77th anniversary of their wedding.

One of the patients at a hospice care facility in Iowa, USA, will shortly be celebrating her 77th wedding anniversary, according to a member of the staff. She didn’t have time to wear a wedding gown when she married her husband in 1944, so they decided to offer her the opportunity to go down the aisle in a lovely gown.

Frances “Frankie” King, the 97-year-old bride, is being cared for at the St. Croix Home Hospice. Royce King, a former US Air Force pilot, is 98 years old. The elderly couple celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary in their backyard on September 24.

“I assisted my mother in putting on her wedding gown, and my father’s health aide assisted him in putting on his military uniform,” Susan “Sue” K. Bilodeau, their 68-year-old daughter, told The Epoch Times. “Dad was led to the yard by hospice employees. Then he waited near the altar in a chair, waiting for his wife to emerge. We covered his eyes with a cloth to give him a larger surprise.”

While stationed at Lawrenceville, Illinois, Royce took a short vacation in September 1944. The couple had barely two days to prepare, so the wedding was rushed.

Frankie was simply wearing a long white dress since she didn’t have time to shop for a proper wedding gown. Their wedding was attended by only a few family and friends, as well as a few international visitors. There was no photographer there when the incident occurred.

As a result, when hospice personnel learned about them, they decided to surprise them.

“The staff at St. Croix Family Hospice is strongly inspired by my parents’ hilarious personality and their love and commitment for each other,” Sue added. “They are brilliant, and they orchestrated this extremely wonderful event for my parents.”

Sue said her parents were ecstatic when they learned of the hospice team’s plan for them.

The pair even got the opportunity to snap a number of images 77 years later to capture Royce’s joyous emotions when he saw the radiant bride in her wedding gown for the first time.

“This is a fantastic 1940s throwback outfit.” Sue explained, “I received it through a cousin of a hospice nurse.” “When we removed the handkerchief, Dad saw Mom standing in front of him in a lovely gown.”

Royce donned the United States Air Force outfit he wore when he married on that day. His eyes welled up with tears of joy when he saw his wife dressed up in a lovely bridal gown.

Sue stated, “He grinned and laughed for a long time.”

Additionally, the hospice’s music therapist performed songs from the 1940s with his saxophone and guitar at the wedding location.

Frankie and Royce had a passion for bands, choruses, and religious youth organizations when they were dating in high school. Frankie proceeded to Cornell College in Mount Vernon after graduation, while Royce traveled to Iowa before joining the US Air Force.

With both of their parents’ approval, Royce presented Frankie with a diamond engagement ring.

The couple has a 71-year-old son, James, who has four grandkids and seven great-grandchildren, in addition to Sue.

They’ve been married for 68 years and are active members of their church and community in Oelwein.