Close Ad

How One Elderly Man Continued to Eat Lunch with His Wife - Even After She Passed Away
an elderly man eats with a picture of his wife that passed away
Uplifting News

How One Elderly Man Continued to Eat Lunch with His Wife - Even After She Passed Away

Not even death could stop one man from eating lunch with his wife every day.

Clarence Purvis and his wife Carolyn used to eat lunch at Smith’s Restaurant in Reidsville, Georgia six days a week. That was until Carolyn passed away.

“They were unbelievable,” restaurant owner Joyce James told CBS News. “I mean you could tell that they adored each other.”


RELATED: Neighbor Calls Police After Hearing Elderly Couple’s Cries of Loneliness – Officers Step In With Best Response

Despite his wife’s passing, Clarence refused to give up the lunch tradition that was so special to him and Carolyn.

“She’s a perfect wife if ever been one,” Clarence said. “Ain’t nobody loved one another more than we loved one another. Everybody said that.”

The Daily Ritual One Elderly Man Kept Up After His Wife's Passing

elderly man sitting alone on a bench
Photo by Bruno Martins on Unsplash

At the age of 93, Clarence would start off his day by visiting his wife’s grave. He would kneel down to give her a kiss before heading to Smith’s for lunch. Once seated in his booth, he would take out a photo of his wife and sit across from it.

“Baby, I wish you could go home with me. I’d trade places with you,” he would tell her picture.

Clarence and Carolyn had been in love since 1948, when they first met.

RELATED: Cop Pulls Distraught Elderly Man Over For Speeding – Has The Best Response When He Hears His Story

“I wanted what she wanted and she wanted what I wanted,” Clarence told WTOC 11.

Unfortunately, Smith’s Restaurant closed, but even that didn’t stop Clarence. Instead, he just found a new restaurant to enjoy with his wife.

“We tried to cook for him or take him, nope. It wasn’t nothing but the Dairy Queen,” his daughter Dianne Knight said.

After his meal, Clarence would head home where a lamp would be on, no matter the time of day. This lamp is always lit to remind Clarence of the eternal flame of love between him and Carolyn.

“This here, that lamp ain’t never turned off, not since she came out of the hospital five months before she passed,” Clarence said. “That light was turned on and it ain’t never been turned off.”

A picture taken of Clarence eating lunch with his wife’s picture went viral, and their love story was picked up by the media.

How One Husband Proved You Never Forget the Ones You Love

elderly couple holding hands
Photo by DLKR on Unsplash

The love the world got to see between Clarence and Carolyn was the constant state of their household, according to their children.

“That was the environment we grew up in all our life,” their son Dale Purvis said.

Last year, in 2021, Clarence passed away. His children are grateful their parents’ story was told while their father was alive.

“That’s what this world needs today. The kind of love that they had for one another,” said Dianne.

RELATED: Teenage Sweethearts Break Up – 35 Years Later, Serendipity Brings Them Back Together

Even though they miss their father, they are happy he is reunited with Carolyn in heaven.

The pictures of him after momma passed, you hardly saw him smile. As opposed to when we had pictures of him before. But now he’ll be smiling all the time.

Dale Purvis

The love between Clarence and his wife was unconditional. No obstacle — not even death — could make his affection for her waver. Love like that has the power to light up a room, like Clarence’s very own eternally-lit lamp.

More Uplifting News from Goalcast:

true love Lasts Forever
"My love for you has no depth; its boundaries are ever-expanding." - Christina White

Hot Stories

Pamela Anderson Opens Up About Her 9 Disastrous Weddings
Why Pamela Anderson Can't Stop Getting Married

Pamela Anderson has it all: beauty, fame and success. So why can’t the most famous blonde find her fairytale ending? Why is Pamela so unlucky in love and what dark secrets lie behind her seemingly glamorous life?

Keep ReadingShow less
Life Stories
Woman at a restaurant's window and two teen employees.

Teens Applauded For the Way They Handled This Angry Customer

Instagram/ @kekessnowballs

Working in customer service can be challenging, especially when you’re dealing with rude and demanding clients. That’s particularly true for some teens, who work these jobs for part-time money and are often bullied by adults. Perhaps that’s why people are applauding these teen girls for the way they expertly handled an over-the-top customer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Uplifting News
Man standing with two daughters, a black purse and a handwritten note (inset)

Grieving Daughter Finds Note In Fossil Purse While Thrifting

Courtesy Anna Harp and Courtesy of Abrielle Clausing (via People.com)

Thrifting can net all sorts of treasures. Shoppers can snatch up everything from vintage clothes to mid-century modern furniture to kitschy knick-knacks, all without breaking the bank.

But for one grieving woman, she found a hidden gem that was truly priceless.

Keep ReadingShow less
Uplifting News