Older Couples Renew Vows in Ceremony

Their faces were lined, and some were physically or mentally disabled, but time had not robbed them of an important asset: their ability to show attachment to another human being.

That is why four elderly couples came together Thursday at the Woodland Care Center, a convalescent home on Corbin Avenue, to renew their wedding vows in front of gathered residents, their families and staff.

Also participating in the ceremony were nursing aide Nancy Lewis and her husband, Mel, who said their wedding vows for the first time two months ago.

Under a blazing hot sun, the five couples gathered in a semicircle around a rose-bedecked trellis that arched over Rabbi Bernard M. Cohen, who officiated at the ceremony.

Bruce Steele, 74, squeezed the shoulder of Irene, his wife of 28 years, as she sat in her wheelchair. When it was the women’s turn to say “I do,” Mary Munguia, who is mentally disabled, emphatically nodded her head.

Sitting in the shade of a roof overhang, Steele, in a crisp, blue cotton shirt and navy slacks, and his wife, in a purple house dress decorated with pink and red flowers, talked about their marriage.

Irene Steele, in her 70s now, was a visitor at Steele’s aunt’s home when they met in 1962.

“I thought that she was very pretty, very honest and straightforward--characteristics that I like in a girl,” Steele recalled. “We just hit it off.”

Although the Steeles can no longer live together--he lives in Panorama City, she lives at the care center due to her physical disability--the love that brought them together is still apparent. As the two talked to a visitor, they frequently patted each other’s arms.

“We just looked at each other a lot,” Steele said, explaining how their relationship had plenty of romance. As if on cue, Irene Steele’s face took on a soft expression as she looked into his eyes.

Bill Sinclair, 77, said he participated in the ceremony with longtime companion Barbara Unger, 71, because “we’ve been together for 10 years.”

Jesus Munguia, 66, decided to renew his vows in the hope that his wife, 70, who suffered a massive stroke in 1989, would be at least dimly aware of his love and devotion for her.

As her husband, Louis, stroked her arm, Gertrude Salle, 86, confessed that she agreed to be in the ceremony to help out the home’s staff, who wanted to put on a fun activity for its residents. Louis Salle, 92, has had Alzheimer’s disease for 18 years.

“What good is it--he doesn’t know anybody,” she said. “But I wouldn’t let him go. I still love him.”

The home’s residents said they enjoyed the affair, which also included a bridal fashion show--using family and staff members as models--pink and white balloons, and a real wedding cake donated by Sherman’s Plaza Bakery.

“It’s beautiful, it’s out of this world,” said Catherine Kasprinski, 75, appreciatively taking in the organza and silk creations.