That is Julianne at the back with her head on her arm. This was at the AAH Gala Dinner at the Hilton Hotel in 2022. Julianne and Paul live on our street in Auchenflower, and Anna and I have come to know them well. So it is unfortunate today as she will be sadly missed. We often saw Julianne and Paul on their morning walks, with Julianne out in front and Paul attempting to keep up. I would see them and sing out from our balcony, "Go on, Paul, you can catch her." Of course, Paul would come up with one of his smart comments, but it is not ideal to repeat it here. Julianne was a very keen golfer and would play a few times per week. It was only early this year she was complaining about a sore back and thought it was due to a muscle strain from all the golf. Unfortunately, it turned out to be Pancreatic Cancer.
Julianne was a great supporter of AAH. She helped choose the food for our cabaret nights and even attended one of our Dance Sessions with her granddaughter, who loved the experience. Julianne and Paul should be proud of the family they created, with two sons and a daughter and now several grandchildren who will miss their grandmother greatly. But she will always be with them in spirit.
Julianne and Paul have been together well over 40 years, and to live a full life with all the ups and downs that life throws at you and the marriage survives means there is some solid substance to the marriage. For those of you who know Paul, he sure needed some control, and Julianne was the person to do that. Recently, I read an article about an older couple and what happened when one died. I tried to find the article again but couldn't, so I will repeat it as best I can.
This couple were in their 80s, and this morning, the wife was bringing breakfast down to her husband, and she had a mishap on the steps and fell. The husband rushed to her side, but she was unconscious. I believe they may have lived in a rural area, so somehow, he picked her up, carried her to their car, and drove her frantically to the local hospital, where, unfortunately, she died. They held the funeral, and the husband sat there forlorn and not speaking to anyone as he was so distraught. It was the same at the wake; he sat alone and spoke to no one. That night, the family held a family dinner, and everyone swapped stories about their wonderful life with their mother. The husband never entered into the conversations. Then, about 11 pm, he turned to his two sons and said he wanted to go to the cemetery. They tried to talk him out of it and to put it off to the morning, but he wouldn't. He persisted, so they took him to the cemetery. The sons held back as their father went to his wife's gravesite, where they heard him say something over the grave.
When they were back at the house, he turned to his sons and said this is the saddest day of my life, and it is so difficult to move forward. But he said he was glad because he was living this horrible experience, and his wife did not have to. This is what true love is all about? Tears come to my eyes thinking of it.
Many of you have lived a long life with a partner only to lose them, and it is very difficult moving forward, but I am sure your deceased partner would be saying in the light of the same love spoken above you need to move on and continue to enjoy life. There is one guarantee: we will all one day have this experience if we haven't already.
Paul, we are thinking of you today at this terrible time. Please don't forget we are there to help you through this period. Please accept our condolences from all the members of AAH.
