PERRY, Ga. — Charles and Victoria Walsh had a love story like no other.
"My story begins in 1968 when I joined the military and met my wife at a dance, and I immediately fell in love with her," said Charles Walsh.
The pair married, and for the next 51 years, they raised children and grandchildren.
"Our relationship was tight, she was my wife -- for life." Walsh said.
For seven years, Victoria battled breast cancer, and this June, Charles took Victoria to a hospital in Houston, Texas for a treatment.
"We checked her into the hospital, and at that moment, I did not know that would be the last time I saw her in person," Walsh said.
Victoria developed COVID-19.
The family's only way of talking to her was an iPad.
"From then on, it was a matter of watching her pass away and it was torture. It was horrid to just sit there and watch her gasp for air," Walsh said.
Victoria died a month later.
"It's been absolutely devastating to me. I'm just here with my dog now and the loneliness is unreal. I sit out here by myself, think about her, and I get so emotional," Walsh said.
But instead of giving in, he did something.
The Air Force veteran, at 72 years old, voted for the first time.
"I felt like that was my way of helping my wife get her message out," Walsh said.
He sent that message by absentee ballot because voting in person was too much of a risk, he said, after losing so much.
As Georgia processes each mail-in vote, he wants to make sure his is counted, saying it's worth every day of wait as it honors his wife's memory.
"Every vote counts," Walsh said.