posted December 31, 2014 04:48 PM            

Edith Hill and Eddie Harrison
Wednesday, Dec 31, 2014 • Updated at 2:35 PM EST

A 95-year-old Virginia newlywed died just weeks after his 96-year-old wife was taken away by family members to Florida.

Eddie Harrison died Tuesday in a hospital after suffering from influenza, said Rebecca Wright, who was caring for the couple in their Alexandria, Virginia, home. Harrison became distressed after his wife and longtime companion, 96-year-old Edith Hill, was taken away, Wright said. Wright is Hill's daughter.

“He lived for her, and she lived for him. It's the love story of the century,” Wright said, recalling how they would dance, take walks and care for each other.

Harrison and Hill's marriage this year after 10 years of companionship was disputed in court. Their wedding was problematic because Hill has been declared legally incapacitated for several years. Another of Hill's daughters, Patricia Barber, contested the marriage, saying it would complicate the eventual distribution of Hill's estate. But Hill and Harrison said they wanted to stay together.

A judge appointed a new guardian for Hill to protect her interests, removing Barber and Wright as guardians, but left the marriage intact.

The interracial aspect of the marriage also was unique because the two longtime Virginians would not have been allowed to marry if they had met in their 20s, 30s or 40s under state law at the time.

On Dec. 6, Hill's guardian arrived to take Hill away to Barber's home in Florida for what was supposed to be a two-week vacation. Police were called to the home during a traumatic 40-minute negotiation to convince Hill to leave, Wright said.

When Hill did not return home as planned after two weeks, Harrison began to realize she was not coming back, Wright said. Daisy Birch, a family friend, said Harrison was heartbroken. He also became ill with the flu and checked himself into a hospital.

A dispute continues between the two sisters, Barber and Wright, over Hill's affairs and place of residence.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/95-Year-Old-Newlywed-Dies-After- Wife-Taken-Away-287229181.html

Just heartbreaking.

posted January 06, 2015 05:58 PM            

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Originally posted by Vajra:
I agree. For some reason, every so often, the children of elderly people have a hard time accepting their widowed parent's new spouse. Have seen that happening too, it can be very sad to watch. In one particular case I know of, an elderly man I was friends with, who had raised his five children as a single dad after the untimely death of his wife, and had stayed single until retirement age, then fell in love with a younger woman (who was about the age of his eldest daughter, but already almost fifty herself) and after some time, she moved in with him. They lived together until he died at nearly age 90, but his family never really accepted her (although she was a very well-read, well educated and hard-working, financially independent woman, not a gold digger in any sense), and they never called her his girlfriend or life partner. They did not marry in order not to anger the children, which proved to be big mistake because, when his final illness came (throat cancer), though he had explicitly requested not to be put on life-prolonging measures during the final stage, which she had promised him to make sure of, his family disagreed and cut her out of the decision-making process, forbid her to talk to the doctors or get information on his health state, and had him put in intensive care with all the invasive yet futile methods for prolonging his suffering, for which there was no known cure. Due to the nature of his illness he lost his speech at that stage and could not fight what was done to him. The guy was a medical doctor himself, even a professor of medical science, so he knew exactly what his condition was, and what treatment he did and did not want, and he had written everything down in time, yet his wishes were disregarded by his family nevertheless, and his long-term girlfriend who had promised him his wishes would be respected was treated like a stranger. Right after his death, his folks made her move out of his place as quickly as possible. I talked to her at the funeral and it was really sad to see how this grieving and devoted woman, who had just lost the love of her life (they had been very happy together, which was evident to everyone who knew them besides his children), and who felt terrible because she had been unable to protect him from the fate he had hoped to avoid, was treated by the kids who are all themselves happily married with children of their own.

I really truly wonder what makes people behave like that to their aging parents, and in this particular case, to someone who gave so much of his love and time to his children and grandchildren before. I suppose it must have something to do with fear of losing part of the inheritance *shudder*

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