The Wedding of a Lifetime

February 2025

Roger, age 84, lay in his bed, beaming proudly at his fiancée, Dot, age 91.

Dot wore a sparkly tiara and carried a bouquet of flowers collected from the vases in their home. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was the perfect Hospice wedding.

Roger and Dot met at the Legion nearly 20 years ago. Roger was a veteran of the Canadian Military, and a Sargent at Arms at the Legion. Every year Roger and Dot were part of a group who would prepare poppies for Remembrance Day sales, and one afternoon, coming back from the poppy sales, this group decided to go to dinner. Roger offered to drive Dot to dinner, and their romance began. He even tried to steal a kiss on the way home!

“He continued to ask me out, until I agreed to ‘go steady with him’ and we’ve been a couple ever since,” laughs Dot. They have been happily living together for the past 17 years.

However, their lives changed when Roger was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2023, and as his cancer progressed, our Hospice team, including Dr. Sheri Bergeron, began to provide care for him in his own home as part of our Palliative Medicine Program.  

Not long after his diagnosis, while under Hospice care, Roger made another decision. He was bound and determined that he and Dot would be married before he died – and our team was bound and determined to help him make that happen!

Maria, Hospice Spiritual Care Coordinator, dug into the project, and it turned out that there was quite a bit of paperwork involved. But, with help from staff at Windsor’s City Hall, and financial support from The Hospice’s Colleen Reaume Patient Assistance and Experience Fund, she was able to get all the necessary documents, including the marriage license.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, February 14^th seemed like the perfect day for this couple to tie the knot. However, as the date grew closer, it became clear that the wedding would need to take place sooner, rather than later.

And, on February 4^th, a beautiful wedding took place.

A celebrant was called in to ensure the marriage was official, and in attendance, in addition to Roger and Dot, were Dr. Bergeron as a witness, Hospice Nurse Paris as a bridesmaid, Maria, and the happy couple’s two nieces.

“We had the ceremony bedside with Roger and Dot, and our groom said his “I Do’s” with so much strength in his voice,” says Maria. “They were both so happy, and so excited.”

As the celebrations wound down, Roger and Dot enjoyed their afternoon together. Just five hours later, that same day, Roger spoke his last words… “I got married today!” and peacefully passed away.

This was both a happy and a sad day, but the memories made, and Roger and Dot’s love and commitment will remain forever. And that is Memorable Care.