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Long-time sweethearts Raymond E. and Valerie Hanks spent their Cinco de Mayo sitting side-by-side Wednesday outside of the adjoining senior living facilities in Bankers Hill they call home.
In normal years, it wouldn’t be strange for the married couple of 55 years to spend an afternoon in the shared courtyard of St. Paul’s Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and St. Paul’s Manor.
But after a year kept largely apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the afternoon felt special.
When Valerie, 76, first moved into St. Paul’s Nursing four years ago because of her worsening dementia and multiple sclerosis, it was difficult for Raymond, 82, as he adjusted to her absence. He soon moved into the adjoining Manor an independent living facility to be closer to her, and they would visit about six times a day either in his apartment, the courtyard or at the nursing home.