Homeless Couple’s Dying Wish to Get Married Honored by Community

Jack Phillips
4/25/2016
Updated:
4/25/2016

A homeless couple from Northern California have been together for 30 years, but they were never married.

Rose Phelps and Daniel Griffiths were both homeless and they were living along the Sacramento River, which is where they first met 30 years ago, KCRA-TV reported.

They have been together since then and honored their vows of matrimony, which weren’t official.

However, 10 years ago, Phelps was diagnosed with lung cancer. “He hasn’t really accepted the fact that I’m dying,” Phelps said of her partner.

And her dying wish was to officially marry the man who stuck by her after all those years, she said.

Volunteers at the Right Hand Auburn Homeless Shelter found out about their aspiration to get married, and they decided to make their wish come true.

CVS made donations and Roper’s Jewelers donated silver wedding bands to the couple.

Food, cake, flowers, and other decorations were donated as well for the wedding.

“I really didn’t know how precious life was until I got sick, you know and how precious love is I guess,” Phelps said.

She doesn’t have long to live, but “I told him I would take his name to my grave,” Phelps told the Auburn Journal.

The wedding took place earlier this month at the shelter, where they’re both residents. Director Jason Smith said that it was the first event of its kind there.

“The shelter did not spend a penny,” Smith said. “So many businesses, individuals and organizations came together.”

(H/T - Littlethings)

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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