Man Serenades Wife On 63rd Anniversary After Suffering Two Strokes

A sweet couple from North Carolina married for the last 63 years is inspiring us today with their story of love even during trying times.

Married for 63 years and counting…

Joe and Sharon Korst have gone through many highs and lows in their marriage but Joe has been singing Kenny Rogers’ “All That You Could Be” to his wife on their anniversary for the last 12 years — but this year, it almost didn’t happen.

Two Strokes

A horrible stoke in June and in July left Joe struggling and because of them he forgot “their song.” The Korsts’ anniversary is in August, but Theresa Kostrzewa, Joe and Sharon’s daughter, remembered it and decided to do something about it.

She was well aware of how important that song was for her parents and wanted Joe to continue that tradition. “He’s probably sung that song 150 times,” Kostrzewa said.

Continuing the tradition

What she did next was so precious for her mom and dad. She spoke to Joe’s speech therapist to help him pull it off and she caught that precious moment on video and was shared by WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, where Joe was a patient.

“Joe and Sharon celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary this past week,” the group posted. “After recently having two strokes, Joe, one of our WakeMed rehab patients, was unable to remember the words to their song: ‘All That You Could Be’ by Kenny Rogers.

“Joe has been practicing this song in speech therapy so that he could surprise his wife by singing it to her on their anniversary. “Happy Anniversary, Joe and Sharon!”

Sweet Serenading

The video shows Joe singing with his wife holding her hand, he sings part of their special song and makes the occasion special with a kiss and an “I love you.”

Watch: Man Surprises Wife With Special Song On 63rd Anniversary After Suffering Two Strokes

Kostrzewa says, “When we sent the video of them singing, it was awesome for everybody,” Kostrzewa said. “It was so sweet.” She says that Joe’s advice for a long and happy marriage is to “Love the hell out of your wife.”

“He tells people, ‘I’m 63 years in love,’” Kostrzewa said. “He just has always unfailingly loved my mom and lets everybody know it and everybody sees it.”

“My mom knows she’s been blessed to have Joe Korst love her entire life. To have him be able to sing that gave her a feeling that everything’s going to be OK, no matter what happens, we’ve got this.”

What a beautiful story reminding us of what true love is and what it should look like. Such a blessing to see this video of Joe and Sharon so much in love even after 63 years of marriage.