Caring made their love last

Salem News (MA)

Feb. 13--PEABODY -- For this Peabody couple who met on a blind date on July 4,1948, their fleeting moments together are something they cherish, even after more than 70 years of marriage.

While Aaron and Roslyn Wiseman still live in Peabody, they are no longer able to live together, although they live in close proximity.

You see, Aaron Wiseman, 95, lives in the long-term care section of the Jeffrey and Susan Brudnick Center for Living at 240 Lynnfield St., where he is cared for by a hospice aide from Danvers-based Care Dimensions, a nonprofit provider of hospice, palliative care and other support services.

Meanwhile, Roslyn Wiseman, 92, lives next door in an assisted living apartment in the Chelsea Jewish Lifecare's Harriett and Ralph Kaplan Estates.

Every afternoon during the week, Care Dimensions hospice aide Kenia Rodriguez escorts Aaron Wiseman on a five-minute trip in the elevators and through the hallways to his wife's apartment, which the couple shared briefly before Aaron required a higher level of care for his diabetes and other conditions.

Care Dimensions shared the story highlighting this couple's long-term love for one another just in time for Valentine's Day.

"It's wonderful to know I'm going to see him," said Roslyn Wiseman. "It gives me something to look forward to. If it weren't for Kenia, we wouldn't see each other every weekday."

"Every Care Dimensions person who has helped me and my family has been lovely," said Aaron Wiseman. The couple have two children, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Their daughter, Leslie Garber, often used to take her father back and forth, or their social worker would help arrange their visits.

When asked the secret of how they stayed married so long, Garber, 68, a retired 35-year Peabody Veterans Memorial High School English teacher, said: "I think they cared what is important to each other and they tried to put each other first whenever they could."

Garber said they have already made sure her parents have something nice to give to one another on Valentine's Day.

The couple's visitation routine became a little easier when Aaron Wiseman went into hospice care, which includes an aide who visits each weekday.

It's Rodriguez who sees Aaron Wiseman after lunch, and who makes sure he's properly groomed for his short trip and visit with his wife, which often involves a hello kiss and Aaron Wiseman presenting his wife with a gift of a pear or a banana. Over the course of half an hour, they listen to music from the 1940s and 1950s, and talk about their times together.

The couple, who came from Lynn, met in 1948. At the time, Roslyn Wiseman was a 21-year-old manager at an insurance company and Aaron Wiseman, then 24, worked at General Electric in Lynn, where he worked in various capacities for his entire career before he retired. The couple married on Sept. 10, 1949, and then moved to Peabody.

Last September, the family threw a 70th anniversary party for them at Kaplan Estates. The party, which was done as an open house, drew more than 50 people, including their health care providers, who stopped by to wish them well.

In 2016, when Aaron Wiseman was 92, the couple moved into the assisted living center on Lynnfield Street.

A few weeks after moving into Kaplan Estates, Aaron fell and required rehabilitation at the Brudnick Center. His health did not rebound enough for him to move back with Roslyn, and when he developed cancer, he chose hospice care with Care Dimensions in June 2018.

Garber said this care has made a great difference for both her mother and father, allowing both to carry on caring for one another.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2534, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @TannerSalemNews. Find us at 300 Rosewood Drive, Suite 107, Danvers, Mass.

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