WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — After being separated by a window for over a year because of the pandemic, one Warner Robins couple reunited on Wednesday.
Jim and Annie Devane have been married for 70 years.
They met through Annie's brother, who needed a ride home from work one day and invited Jim inside.
"I felt somebody behind me and it was a little girl, a little freckled face, 95 pounds, and it just so happens that it was almost love at first sight," he says. "She was not only my sweetheart and my wife and the mother of my children, but she also was my best friend."
At the end of 2019, she moved into the memory care unit at Summer's Landing.
"One of the things that mom could always do was that she was the thread that held our family together for our Christmas get-togethers, Thanksgiving, and we miss that now," says their daughter, Wanda Cranford.
Once COVID-19 hit, they could only see each other through her window.
"We've been visiting her now at the window for the last 14 months," Wanda says. "We've celebrated Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries right here at this window. Bought cakes and sung happy birthday to her and we've just had a little family reunion down here whenever we come see her."
On Wednesday, they were finally allowed inside.
"It's something that's hard to explain. I was just so excited. It really made me feel so good and she just grabbed my hand and she wouldn't turn it loose. For the whole hour, we sat there on the couch just loving each other," says Jim.
Wanda got to hug her mom again, too.
"It was a wonderful experience to see mama and hold her,' she says. "It was tears of joy, that's all I can say."
Now, two people are allowed in her room for an hour, three days a week. Jim says he couldn't be happier to be reunited with his sweetheart.
"I was just thrilled. It was a real real blessing to me to know that I was going to be able to get back and give her a big ol' hug," he says. "One of the best things that's ever happened to me was when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. My next best thing was when I married Anne. She has really been a blessing to me and I just thank God for her every day."