An 80-year-old man serenaded his wife everyday by singing ‘Amazing Grace’ through the window of her nursing home because of coronavirus restrictions.
John Kline has been married for the last 45 years to the love of his life, but since she has been taken to the nursing home, due to Alzheimer’s, they have been forced to stay apart.
A video of the couple singing together was filmed by an employee at the Montgomery nursing home and shared by Kline on Facebook. It shows Kline singing through a window screen, and is joined by his wife Ann, who is lying in bed. The video has gone viral with 58,000 views and 1,400 shares as of Sunday morning.
“Through a Pane — not a Pain. No visitors to John Knox Manor Nursing Home. Not my best singing — so you probably won’t want to listen,” John Kline wrote in the post. “I cut it off at 45 seconds. I love my Sweet Ann and look forward to spending eternity with her. God bless you for even looking — and if you listened, well that was because you wanted to hear Ann.”
Watch: Man Serenades Wife With Alzheimer’s Through Nursing Home Window
Through a Pane–not a Pain. No visitors to John Knox Manor Nursing Home. Not my best singing–so you probably won’t want to listen. I cut it off at 45 seconds. I love my Sweet Ann and look forward to spending eternity with her. God bless you for even looking–and if you listened, well that was because you wanted to hear Ann.
Posted by John Kline on Thursday, March 19, 2020
Alabama issued an order limiting visitation at nursing homes and extended-care facilities to curb the spread of COVID-19 among the elderly.
Before the restrictions, John Kline’s would visit his wife, also 80, daily, he too was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 17 years ago. He would finish his day as a distinguished professor of leadership at Troy University and then head over to the nursing home to spend a few hours with Ann, sharing dinner and a goodnight kiss.
“I’ve always said how much I love her, ’til death do us part,” Kline said on Friday. “But I’m trying to make the statement that no matter what happens, there’s no reason to give up on love. If she gets where she doesn’t know me, I will still go see her, because I will still know her.”
Kline said he spends about 15 minutes a day outside his wife’s window singing songs from the 1950s and church hymns, such as “Jesus Loves Me,” to help her remember their times together.
“He doesn’t want her to forget him, and it’s very important for him to be here singing so she doesn’t lose her ability to do that,” John Knox administrator Terri Howell said.
