2014 was a tragic time for an elderly couple who simply wanted to spend their last years together. Instead, a storm of family conflict left this vulnerable pair at the mercy of others with more power.
Sitting in empty silence while reading the newspaper, a 95-year-old newlywed man was brokenhearted, unable to be with his soulmate.
Eddie Harrison missed his wife, Edith Hill, dearly, and he longed for the times they were together, which all began the day they met in Virginia while playing the lottery.
[Left] Eddie Harrison and his wife Edith Hill; [Right] Eddie Harrison by himself. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
A LOVE STORY OF THE DECADE
She gave him a number to play on her behalf, and eventually, it came up, leaving the pair with $5000.00, which they split. Harrison said it was love at first sight.
A relationship slowly blossomed as he invited his future wife over to his house. His previous spouse had passed years before, and many of her clothes were still stored in the home.
Eddie Harrison sleeping. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
So, he asked Hill if she would like to come over and try them on because they looked as if they would fit her.
Their love grew, and after a decade of being side by side, they got married near the end of 2014. So, they now spent their days in Hill's home together as a married couple.
Eddie Harrison and his wife Edith Hill sleeping next to one another. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
PRAYING FOR CHANGE
However, these days were short-lived as the house was soon filled with empty hallways. It left only Harrison behind its doors. Reminiscing, he expressed:
"I want her home with me where she belongs. It makes me filled with wishes of the time that we were here before this whole nightmare happened."
Eddie Harrison and his wife Edith Hill. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
Turning to his devout faith, Eddie Harrison tried to find tranquility in the Bible's scripture, a passage that could perhaps soothe his aching loneliness: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Eddie Harrison and his wife Edith Hill at church together. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
A STORM IN THE DISTANCE
A silence also pervaded only a few weeks before, but it was one of peace. Eddie Harrison watched birds while sitting in front of a shimmering river with his 96-year-old wife Edith Hill, who, at the time, said:
"I'm so thankful to live in this world when we came here. Now we've been here a long time, and we don't know how much longer than we have, so I say we do the best we can."
Tragically, Hill was unaware of how little time her husband did have left on this earth. While the two sat in their own serene and shared world, a chaos rumbled in the background, ready to pull them apart.
Eddie Harrison and his wife Edith Hill watching birds at the river together. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
THE ROLL OF THUNDER
Hill was diagnosed with dementia in 2011. So, her daughters, Ernestine Yates, Patricia Barber, and Rebecca Wright, were left with the massive responsibility of ensuring that their mom had the best possible life moving forward.
This led to conflict among the sisters. One disagreement happened around the disputed claim by Patricia Barber that it was in Hill's best interest to be taken out of her Virginia home.
Rebecca Wright at a hospital. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
She thought Hill should be taken to Florida, where she could be put in assisted living or be more effectively taken care of.
Wright alleged that her sister wanted their mom out of her own house so she could gain money from her mother's property, thereby taking Hill away from her husband.
Rebecca Wright. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
SOUR PROMISES
Either way, the elderly couple themselves were the ones caught in this crossfire when independent guardian, Jessica Niesen, came to take Hill away from her home to Florida. The couple fought them, with Harrison protesting to Niesen:
"Well, I hope you sleep good tonight...The devils will sleep under your bed...you're evil."
While this was a terrible moment, Niesen assured them that Hill would only be gone for two weeks. This reassurance gave Harrison some hope. And then it was crushed.
Eddie Harrison. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
BACK TO THE RIVER
This elderly man waited for his wife every day, yet the promise that she would return in a fortnight didn't happen. Soon after this realization, he collapsed, and in December of 2014, he passed away. Wright said:
"I believe when he found out she wasn't coming back that he gave up all hope."
Almost three years later, in March of 2017, Hill died from natural causes. Speaking about their relationship, Wright expressed: "He lived for her, and she lived for him. It's the love story of the century."
Eddie Harrison and his wife Edith Hill watching birds at the river together. │Source: youtube.com/Topic
Hopefully, now they are both at peace, experiencing the type of serenity they felt while sitting next to each other watching birds by the river.
ncG1vNJzZmimlazAb63MqKSapZFjsLC5jmtvcWxjbHq4tcWeZHJuXZ7Abr7IqaeenF2WxKLFjKGcq2WemsRutNSsmZqmlGKGb7TTpqM%3D