Lifelong Valentines: Vernon and Wilma Carson

Meet Vernon and Wilma Carson. They were our first clients and have been with Right at Home of Modesto for seven years. The Carsons are currently residents at Bethel Retirement Community and will celebrate their 67^th wedding anniversary this summer!

We care for all of our clients like they are family, but in this case they actually are family. Vernon and Wilma are the parents of our owner, Rick Carson. They are an inspiration and an everyday reminder of why at-home senior care is so important.

Before they became clients, the Carsons were unsure how long they would be able to remain at home. Upon discovering that they could stay in their home and get assistance that they could afford, it was an easy decision to make!

For many couples the prospect of being separated because one person needs a higher level of care is devastating. In other cases, a caregiving spouse needs support or respite care to maintain their own health and quality of life. Other couples simply wish to remain in the place where they have family memories and feel most comfortable.

Vernon and Wilma met when she was 15 and he was 19. They were set up by their sisters who were friends. Vernon was a student at Modesto Junior College (MJC) and Wilma worked as a cab dispatcher while attending Turlock High School. Their first date was a boxing match at MJC which Vernon says he doesn’t think she was too excited about, but agreed to it anyway.

Vernon moved to Oakland to attend school and they continued to date for 15 months. Recently, their family stumbled upon some of the love letters they wrote to each other while they were apart. The two giggled and grinned like teenagers when speaking about the letters. After all these decades, the happiness they derive from each other’s company is still evident. 

The 15 months of Vernon traveling up to Hilmar from Oakland became unbearable and the couple decided they couldn’t be apart any longer.  In 1949 they were married.

They talk about raising their children, and the fond memories of holding a ministry for servicemen in their home sometime in the late 1960s or early ‘70s. Vernon and Wilma remember how their children loved to be involved and enjoyed the company of all the men who attended. 

They lived in their family home through the summer of 2015, when they downsized to the retirement community.  For six years in-home care made it possible for the Carsons to continue living at home and Right at Home continues to provide care in their new home.  

Wilma likes the retirement community just fine, but misses having room for her children and grandchildren.

The Carsons originally started in-home care to assist with some of the household duties.

Wilma needed some assistance with her showers and could no longer prepare meals or keep up the household. She decided that a caregiver to assist with these tasks was just what they needed. She also feels the most beneficial part of home care for her is the personal care assistance

As caregivers we see many families like our own. We still encounter people, even doctors and nurses, who don’t know the help is out there. It’s no surprise that we all would like to remain in our home where our memories are, where we are the most comfortable, and to be with our loved ones as long as we are able.

In-home care allows this. In many cases we can assist with care until the very end, while working closely with Hospice. As professional caregivers, as well as family caregivers, we wish more people knew that in-home care is an option.

Almost 67 years after these love birds married, the Carsons still hold hands and smile at each other. These lifelong sweethearts have been able to remain with each other in the comfort of their own home. They mentioned their children wanting to read the love letters to their own children one day. When asked if this was something they wanted to keep to themselves, the response was so sweet and genuine.

Wilma said, “I think it would be nice to share with my grandchildren, to teach them not to settle for anything less than a happy marriage, they should never be afraid to show their love or be with the one you love”.