Couple Forced to Live Apart After 62 Years Reunited

'They can now be under the same roof for their remaining years'
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 24, 2016 11:33 AM CDT

Every other day for months, Wolfram and Anita Gottschalk cried when they were separated and returned to the senior living facilities in which they'd been forced to reside apart. On Thursday, the tears were for another reason. Thanks in part to media coverage and a viral photo, the couple—married 62 years—is once again living together, CBC reports. "The reunion saw tears of joy for all involved," the couple's granddaughter, Ashley Bartyik, posted on Facebook. "They can now be under the same roof for their remaining years." Wolfram, 83, was hospitalized in January then moved into a facility in British Columbia. Because she didn't need as much care as her husband, who has dementia and lymphoma, 81-year-old Anita was moved into a different facility in July.

Fearing that time apart would cause Wolfram's memories of Anita to fade, a family member drove 40 minutes every other day so they could see each other, CNN reports. Bartyik posted a photo of one of their tearful goodbyes in August, and their story went international. In her Facebook post this week, Bartyik thanks "everyone around the world" for making Thursday's permanent reunion at Anita's senior living facility possible. "We thank you for your continued prayers and messages we have received," she writes. In a video of the reunion, Anita holds Wolfram's face and tells him, "Look at me, look at me; I love you." (More uplifting news stories.)

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